Tangled Fates
by Rydia Asuka
Summary: After receiving some of the worst news of her life, Tear meets a mysterious stranger on the street, and thus starts her life spiralling into a series of uncontrollable events as they fight death itself.
1. Cataclysm

_First off, I'm going to start off by saying that this is an RP written together with a friend of mine. All ideas and concepts are a co-operative work, and deserve credit to Ayaji as well as me. Also, because this is an RP, it does jump around from perspective to perspective quite a bit, but it should hopefully be reasonably easy to follow. _

_The rating of __**will**__ be going up at a certain point of this RP. I'm just warning you so…well, you can watch out for it. XD_

_Character division starts out as: _

_Ayaji: Tear, Jade, Noelle_

_Rydia: Judas, Natalia, Guy, Luke_

_OCs are added in later, for storyline purposes __**only**_**, **_I promise, and will be added to that list at that time. Also, Judas may seem like an OC, but he is not. Have fun guessing~ _

_Erm…that's about it, for now. Enjoy! And please, feel free to comment. Might get you faster updates. XD_

Disclaimer: All characters and settings are property of Namco, save for a small handful of OCs to be added later.

Warnings: Spoilers for all of the game. Language, violence, and mature scenes in the future.

* * *

**Tangled Fates**

**Chapter One: Cataclysm  
**

"_When a plane becomes unstable, it will draw into itself things from another plane to stabilize the material existence. However, this is unnatural and will result in further chaos. When such irregularities are detected, the guardians of the void are dispatched to destroy those things which are unnatural." _

Tear snapped the book she was reading shut, realizing by the slant of the sunlight across her lap that she was going to be late for her lunch appointment if she dallied in the library much longer. She returned the strange book she had found to the shelf and hurried toward the library's exit. On the steps of the library, Tear paused, shading her eyes with one hand as she tried to determine how late it was. She hadn't meant to take so long, but somehow she always seemed to get distracted when she had free time in a library. The book on parallel dimensions had been sitting open on one of the tables, and she had intended to merely glance through it and return it to the shelf it belonged on. However, the contents had proved rather interesting. The concept of alternate universes was always a subject that had fascinated Tear, although she knew there was no evidence that any plane of existence but her own existed.

Making her way down the stairs, Tear noticed an unfamiliar dark-haired man lingering near one of the archive buildings. He looked rather out of place, and she was rather certain she had never seen him before, which was odd considering the amount of time she spent in this area of the city. While it was true that Baticul was a large city and it would be impossible to know everyone, she had thought that she at least recognized all the regulars to this section of town. Only people of a certain rank had access to the archive areas in particular, so Tear was surprised by the unfamiliar face, especially one as unforgettable as the young man she was now eying curiously. He was quite good looking, and she saw that other young women were giving him surreptitious glances as well when they thought he wasn't looking. However, she didn't have time to be distracted by mysterious strangers, no matter how attractive they might happen to be.

Tear tore her gaze away from the strange young man and continued toward the royal quarters. She could already picture Natalia's disproving gaze at her late arrival, especially since she had assured the royal couple this morning that she wouldn't forget their meeting time. Making her way up the steps toward the gardens where they had arranged to meet, Tear flashed her identification at the guards. Most of them recognized her on sight anyway, but it never hurt to remind them of her rank. She saw Luke and Natalia relaxing on a shaded terrace ahead and picked up her pace a bit.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" she called as she got close enough to speak to them. As usual, Luke's warm, welcoming smile sent a small pang of regret through her heart. If she had spoken of her feelings to him, would things have turned out differently? Would she be the one sitting at his side now, instead of Natalia? Tear quickly brushed such thoughts from her mind, as she always had, smiling back at Luke and Natalia. "I hope you weren't waiting too long," she added, taking a seat across from the pair. A servant appeared as if by magic, offering her a cool glass of water garnished with a thin slice of lemon. Tear accepted it gratefully, taking a sip as she waited for the other two to answer.

* * *

The black-haired young man was wandering about Baticul, more-or-less lost. He could not remember his way around the city at all. Then again, he had no idea if he had ever even _been_ to this city before. In fact, he did not know much about anything. Not even himself.

Still, he freely recognised that sitting around and pouting or sulking was not going to help him in any way. So instead he was wandering world in an effort to figure himself out. Any stimulus that would trigger _something _in him. At the very least, he had learned that he was an excellent swordsman. Wandering from city-to-city over the past few months had taught him that.

As best he could recall, he had awoken in a small, rundown harbour village about three months before, with only a sword and the clothes on his back to his name-a name he also did not have. In light of that, he had chosen the name 'Judas'. He thought it fit himself, if nothing else.

After waking in the small town, he had tried to pinpoint his location, and then to go from there. He had decided that travelling was as good a way as any to try and figure out his own life. So that was what he did. He had spent the past three months making his way from Kaitzur-he thought that was the name-up to the capital, Baticul. It was proving futile, though.

Since his search was going so poorly, he had decided to give up on it for the time being. He was going to start carving a place in the world for himself. He was taking that quite literally. He had survived so far by fighting monsters, so he figured if he displayed his skills well enough in the coliseum then maybe he could work as a sell-sword; a mercenary.

Only he could not find the coliseum. In the course of searching for it, he had ended up here...wherever 'here' was. Looking around in an effort to tag some sort of landmark, he could not help but notice a pretty brunette staring at him. The woman, with hair down to her waist, longer than even his own, was quite attractive, he noted absently. Yet she quickly moved on, clearly in a hurry.

Pushing it from his mind, he wandered off. Maybe he could find a soldier to ask directions from.

* * *

Luke nodded his thanks as a serving woman set a tall class of chilled water down in front of him, yet his thoughts were far too occupied by the news he had to relay to Tear to really acknowledge what had happened. The very thought of the news he and Natalia were to lay on the girl distressed him. If only he had just gotten up the nerve to...

No, what was done was done, and there was nothing fretting over it was going to do.

With a soft sigh, the redhead picked up his fork and fiddled with it idly. He was glad Tear was running late. It gave him longer to think about what exactly he was going to say.

* * *

"Oh, Luke, do sit still," Natalia scolded, a frown marring her refined features. Truth be told, the young princess wanted to fidget herself, yet she was far too in control of herself to do so.

The whole situation would have been so much easier had Asch still been around, yet her engagement to the son of Duke Fabre still stood, and that was what the people cared about. They wanted security in the royal family, which meant that someday the princess would have to wed.

That day was just coming sooner than expected.

* * *

"Sorry, Natalia," Luke murmured in reply, setting the fork down as he spoke. "I'm just...nervous." Talk about an understatement. He wanted to run as far away as he could as fast as he could.

* * *

Natalia was about to reply when Tear arrived, looking somewhat flustered from what was apparently a hurried trip to their meeting site.

At Tear's hurried apology, the young woman sent her a gentle smile and a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it, Tear. You weren't that late, we only just got her ourselves." While not exactly true, it was always best to be polite.

* * *

Luke greeted Tear with a weak smile.

"Hey, Tear."

* * *

Tear sensed that Luke seemed a bit out of sorts today, but she pretended not to notice. Instead, she took another sip of her water as servants began to appear with the appetizers for their meal. A lunch on the terrace like this was a nice thing to do once in a while, although Tear had to admit that she felt a bit like a third wheel today. It would have been more comfortable for her if someone else had joined them, perhaps Jade or Guy. She hadn't seen the Necromancer in months due to his habit of taking mysterious assignments and vanishing without a word to anyone, only to turn up unannounced when people least expected him. Guy, on the other hand, often spent time with the royal couple. She was surprised that he wasn't around today, but perhaps he had more pressing matters to attend to. It was also possible that he had been invited and was merely running even later than she had been.

A servant set a plate of some sort of salad in front of her and Tear eyed it half-heartedly. The fact that the meal was being served already indicated that Guy probably wasn't coming. She picked up her fork and poked around among the lettuce a bit, not particularly in the mood for salad. The dressing looked especially unappetizing, although she usually enjoyed vinaigrette dressing. Poking the lettuce some more, she found her gaze idly drifting toward Luke, where it often tended to wind up when she spent time with the redhead. He seemed less than interested in his salad as well, eating even less of it that she had of her own. Tear wondered what was on his mind. At that moment, she realized that Natalia had said something.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked, a slight flush tinting her cheeks in embarrassment at being so rude. She dragged her attention away from Luke and focused instead on the blond across the table from her. She really had nothing against Natalia. The princess was a great person, but Tear still had a small feeling of residual jealousy that Natalia got to be with Luke. Even so, she was determined not to let that show, and she tried to look interested in whatever it was Natalia had said.

* * *

Natalia sent the songstress a soft smile at her abrupt inquiry. She could tell that, like Luke, Tear was not completely there. Sure, she was there physically, yet the brunette's mind was clearly off elsewhere. It was a common occurrence of late. Natalia was at least mostly certain that Luke and Tear had had feelings for one another at one point, yet that was in the past now. It had to be. That fact certainly did not mean that no residual feelings lingered, however. It was that worry, in fact, that made the princess nervous herself. She really did not want this news to tear apart the group.

Still, there really was nothing for it but to go on. Fretting it would certainly solve nothing.

"Oh, that's quite alright, Tear," she reassured, setting aside her fork. "I was just saying that Luke and I have some wonderful news." No matter how worrisome the situation, Natalia had been raised to always put on a strong face for her people, exactly as she was doing now. "Luke, if you would?"

* * *

Luke could not stop a wince as Natalia's attention was turned to him. That really was never a good thing in his book. In this case it was even less of one. They-Natalia-had decided that it would be best for him to deliver the news, and that was exactly what she was expecting him to do now.

Dropping his fork, still loaded down with its first piece of lettuce, back to his bowl-he did not think he could have eaten had the salad been Guy's famous tuna salad, and that was saying something. Well, exempting the rare times it came out either soggy or slimy, of course. Or burnt. He dared not question that one too far-Luke inhaled deeply before looking up to meet Tear's eyes.

"Tear..." he began before pausing, trying to organise his thoughts."I...well, that is, we...Natalia and I..." he paused again to take a deep breath in an effort to calm his racing heart. He really did not know how to word what he had to tell her. The fact that he did not want to say it did not help, either.

At least he had the small comfort of knowing Tear did not return his feelings. It would make it easier on her.

"Natalia and I are going to be getting married next month," he finally blurted out in one breath, quickly dropping his eyes to the tabletop. "N-Natalia, and me, too; we were hoping you would b-be willing to help with the ceremony."

* * *

Tear felt as though time had suddenly ground to a halt. Her fingers had turned to ice and she blinked a few times, turning the words over in her mind. Luke and Natalia were getting married? She supposed it had been inevitable that this day would eventually come, but she hadn't anticipated it so soon. Although she felt as though her insides had been filled with lead or perhaps something heavier, Tear carefully arranged a smile on her face.

"You're getting married? Congratulations!" she said. The words sounded false and hollow to her, and she hoped the other two wouldn't pick up on that. "Of course I will help with the ceremony." She would rather run to the other side of the planet, or perhaps leave the planet entirely if that was possible. If anything, she wanted nothing to do with this wedding, but she wasn't going to let them down for feelings that she had never even bothered to voice. "When will the ceremony be?" Tear asked, her voice still full of false cheer.

* * *

Natalia, being the naive princess that she was, smiled brightly when Tear agreed to help them out. She had been almost afraid the brunette would refuse, due to the fact that there clearly had been a time when she had liked Luke. Yet it seemed the songstress was mature enough to see past that.

"That's fantastic, Tear!" she said, nodding. "Luke and I will so appreciate your help with the ceremony. The wedding is going to be the end of next month. We don't have a whole lot of time to prepare, so would you be able to come to the castle tomorrow morning to help with the plans?"

* * *

Luke winced at the smile on Tear's face, his heart almost seeming to sink into the depths of his chest. Some part of him, a very small part, had been hoping that Tear would refuse. That she would be upset. That she would claim him for herself. Anything but this! Yet there she was, plain as day, smiling and agreeing to help arrange it. Perhaps he really should have spoken sooner.

* * *

Tear didn't miss the small wince on Luke's face, but she didn't have time to think about what it might mean. She forced herself to focus on Natalia, knowing that if she looked at Luke too long she would lose her resolve. The princess wanted her to start helping with plans tomorrow? That was so soon! There wasn't even any time for her to feel miserable about the situation. However, perhaps that was for the best.

"Tomorrow morning? I'll try to be on time this time," she said, trying to lighten her own mood with a half-hearted joke. The smile on her face was strained, and she knew that there was no way she would be able to eat any more of the lunch they had planned for. "I suppose you already have some of the plans underway if the ceremony is only one month away." She grasped about for some sort of conversation to focus on so that she wouldn't sink into depression. Although the wedding was not exactly the sort of topic she would prefer to think about, it was better than the awkward silence she was sure would rise between them if she didn't say something.

* * *

"Oh, yes," Natalia agreed instantly, nodding. "They have actually been underway for some time, yet with you out of town there was no way to tell you. There are still a lot of finer details that we must see to, however. That is where we hope you will be willing to help out."

Natalia was completely oblivious to the negative emotions all but seeping from the other two. She had been raised to see to her duty, and that was precisely what she was doing at the moment. The fact that she was utterly naive did not hurt, either.

* * *

Luke was not quite so dense as Natalia. He could see that something was bothering Tear, yet he was not exactly sure what it might be. Perhaps they had asked her to be ready too soon? Yes, that had to be it.

Leaning over, Luke whispered into his soon-to-be wife's ear, "Natalia, do you think we should let Tear go home and get ready? She might have stuff to do while she's here," he mumbled, although not really all that quietly. "We are dropping this on her."

* * *

Tear hadn't really thought about the fact that she had been relatively unavailable as of late. She had been taking assignments that kept her away from Baticul intentionally to avoid spending too much time with Luke. She knew that eventually she would have to just get over herself and seal away her feelings for him. That day had just come much sooner than she had thought it would. Noticing Luke lean over to whisper to Natalia, Tear quickly averted her eyes and glanced aimlessly around the garden. The colors seemed strangely duller than they had been when she first arrived.

"I'll help you out where I can," she said, her gaze fixated on a small bird as it searched for insect in the grass nearby. "I suppose we'll be going over the details of what exactly you'll need my help for tomorrow morning?" It was more of a statement then a question, but Tear wanted affirmation anyway to know exactly what she was getting herself into. She risked glancing back at the other two, or rather at Natalia. Luke had returned to his original place and was no longer in her direct line of sight. Looking at him right now was pointlessly painful.

* * *

Natalia frowned as Luke leaned over, right in front of their guest, and began whispering in her ear. Honestly, how rude could he be? Asch would never have done that...

No, there was no use dwelling on the past. He was dead and gone, that was all there was to it. Her thoughts were interrupted quite suddenly, however, as Tear began speaking once more. Quickly turning her attention back to her guest, Natalia sent the brunette a small nod. "Of course, Tear. We can go over everything in the morning when you're better rested. You've been so busy lately that you must be exhausted."

As she was speaking, Natalia noticed that Tear really did look tired. The songstress had not looked nearly so bad when she had first arrived, of that Natalia was certain, but perhaps Luke was right. Maybe Tear really did need a break.

"Goodness, Tear. You do not look well. Are you tired from your trip home? Why don't you go and take it easy for today? I can meet with you tomorrow."

* * *

Luke was relieved when Natalia apparently took his advice to let Tear go. It wasn't that he wanted to get away from Tear...except that was it exactly. Looking at her right now was almost physically painful. Besides that, Tear really did look run-down. Perhaps a night to herself would renew the girl's fiery spirit that he so loved.

* * *

Tear felt as though a physical weight had been lifted from her as the two of them gave her an escape route. She still felt terrible about the whole situation she had agreed to entangle herself in, but at least now she could get away and have some time to think for a moment. She gave the couple a grateful smile.

"Actually, I am a bit tired from traveling" she lied as she stood up. "I hope you don't mind me excusing myself then. Sorry that I will not be staying for the rest of lunch. I hope you two enjoy yourselves." Giving the two of them a respectful half-bow, Tear turned away, trying not to walk too fast. She wanted to run as far and as fast as her feet would carry her, but she knew that was out of the question. As soon as she left the royal quarters though, she was at a bit of a loss as to where to turn next. She didn't want to go home just yet, but she didn't particularly feel up to visiting anywhere else either.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice the young man she had seen by the library earlier until she ran straight into him. The impact was rather jarring for both of them, as Tear had unconsciously been almost running in her desire to get away from the sad smile Luke had given her as she had left. She hadn't meant to look at him, but some idiot part of her had decided that it would be all right to look directly into the red-head's eyes as she said goodbye. The words had felt so final that she had barely managed to stop tears from welling up in her eyes at the chances that she had never taken that were now gone forever. Stumbling back, Tear did feel a bit of dampness on her cheeks as she looked up into the dark eyes of the man she had just ploughed into.

"I…I'm sorry…" she said, quickly wiping away the tears she hadn't even felt forming. "I wasn't watching where I was going…" For some reason, there was an odd sort of comfortable feeling emanating from the young man. Tear felt a strange urge to cling to him, but quickly brushed it aside as lingering feelings over Luke's announcement.

* * *

As Tear all but scurried away, Luke had taken the moment to meet her eyes, however momentarily, and the result of that mistake sent a stab of pain through his heart. Maybe this was not as clear-cut as he had thought. Every fibre of his body wanted to latch onto the girl before him and never let her go.

Yet what did he do? He said goodbye, that was what. Then he watched the girl he loved walk away for what felt like it would be the last time...


	2. Lost

**Chapter Two: Lost**

Judas was still lost. He did not even care to know how long he had spent wandering when suddenly the girl from earlier literally barrelled into him. Automatically he reached out to grab her shoulders and steady her. Once he was certain she was not going to topple over on him, he released her and glanced down, only to start in surprise when he realized she was—or had been—crying. Frowning, he reached down to wipe her tears away, only to wrench his hand back after a moment when he realized what he had been going to do. He did not even know this girl! Suddenly realizing that she was speaking, he sent her a reassuring smile.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us." As he was speaking, Judas was suddenly painfully aware of the thick, rolling accent he spoke with. It was weird, he had not thought about it in awhile, yet suddenly he was noticing it again. At first, when he had woken up in Kaitzur, he had thought the people around him spoke with an accent, however his travels had quickly taught him otherwise; he was the one with the accent. "I gotta ask, though...what's a girl like you doing running around the city like that? And crying like that?"

* * *

As soon as the young man spoke, Tear realized she had never heard an accent like that before. That was rather odd, considering that she thought she had been to all the areas where the dialect was different than the main city. This heavy accent wasn't at all familiar and her confused mind latched onto that as a stable point to avoid thinking about the wedding.

"You're not from around here" Tear said, although as soon as she said it, she felt rather silly for pointing out the obvious. She also was being rude, not answering his question right away. "Oh, sorry…" she apologized again. She gave him a half-hearted smile. "I just…have a lot on my mind today." She opened her mouth to say more, then shut it again, feeling slightly bewildered. Why did she have the urge to pour out her story to this complete stranger? Something about him felt so oddly familiar…

"Have we met before?" she asked, before she really stopped to think about it. She knew very well that they hadn't met, and yet he somehow felt like an old friend. "I'm sorry, that was a stupid question…" she hastily amended. "I think maybe I need to sit down and sort things out. It's been a rather trying day and my thoughts are a bit jumbled…" She didn't really know why she was telling him that, but now that it had slipped out there was no taking it back.

* * *

Judas shot the poor girl a pitying look, his own mind slowly turning over the poor girl's hasty statements and clearly jumbled thoughts. He could not quite say he was used to people suddenly blurting things out to him like then. Then again, he could not remember much, so maybe it was normal.

"Well, I'd offer you a place to go do just that, but I'm not from here—oh, but you already figured that out." He sighed, looking up around the city before looking back down at the girl before him. "Actually, I don't really know where I am at all. I'm a bit lost." It felt a bit weird to be telling her this, yet he figured she had told him some things about herself, so a bit of information would not hurt.  
"Oh, I'm Judas, by the way," he told her, holding out one hand. "And you are...?" As far as he could tell, he had always been blunt, so there was no point in hiding it.

* * *

"My name is Tear" she said, accepting the hand he had offered. It was warm and strangely familiar to her, and she was both reluctant to pull away and uneasy about how easily she seemed to be warming up to this complete stranger. "You're in the capital city of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, the city of Baticul." Tear gestured to the area around them as she spoke. They were not in a particularly nice area of the city, and she wondered how she had wound up down here. "Where do you intend to stay?" She asked curiously.

* * *

Judas chuckled a bit at her answer, a soft smile dancing on his lips. "Sorry, sorry, I know what city I'm in. That was a stupid thing to say; I don't where in the city I am," he told her, chuckling softly. "I was looking for the coliseum, but ended up a bit on the lost side of things.

"As for where I was going to stay...your guess is as good as mine. I just wandered in last night, and have been trying to find the coliseum ever since." Baticul really was too big for its own good. "I was hoping to make some cash there so I could stay at the inn," he admitted with a shrug.

* * *

"I can take you over there…although it's getting a bit late." Tear glanced upwards, noticing that it was already twilight. She had met with Luke and Natalia for a rather late lunch anyway, and she had apparently spent more time lost in thought then she had previously realized. "You won't be able to make any money at the coliseum tonight." She paused for a moment, thinking. Would it be all right to invite him to stay at her place tonight? She could certainly use the company to keep her mind preoccupied and he seemed nice enough as a conversation partner. She gave him a small, hesitant smile.

"I suppose if you aren't too adverse to the idea, you could come and stay with me tonight. I know a couch isn't exactly glamorous sleeping arrangements, but if you don't have money for the inn tonight…" Her voice trailed off as she realized she was insinuating that he was broke. She hoped he wouldn't think that she was rude and added "In the morning I would be glad to accompany you to the arena before my appointment with Natalia and…Luke." She hesitated a second before the last word. Even saying his name was painful, as it made her think about what she would have to deal with in the morning. Quickly pushing such thoughts to the back of her mind, Tear looked back to Judas, waiting for his answer.

* * *

Judas could have laughed. A couch was glamorous given that his alternative was wandering the streets for another night, an idea he certainly did not relish. No, he would take a couch over a bench any day, especially since he was pretty broke.

"Hey, I'm not going to say no to that offer," he told her, grinning a bit. "Better than a night on a bench. Plus, I think I'd appreciate a guide to the coliseum. A town this size hides things like that pretty well." He had figured it would be easy to find, yet that was proving to be quite the mistake on his part. Motioning for her to lead the way, he thought back to what Tear had said a moment before and frowned. "So...who is this Luke?" He could not have said why he asked that, yet he had, and he really did not like that he had done so. Saying the name had seemed to upset the poor girl.

* * *

Tear winced as Judas asked her about the one thing she really didn't want to think about. "Well, it's a bit of a long story…" she said hesitantly. She started walking, glad to be leaving the less than secure area of town they were currently talking in. "Hmm, I'm not even sure where to start actually" she admitted. She led the dark-haired young man to the quarter of the city that she lived in.

"We met by accident really. I was in the Fabre manor with the intent to assassinate a target, but Luke interposed himself between us. A hyper-resonance of our fonons caused us both to be thrown all the way to Malkuth, to Tataroo Valley actually." As she spoke, she glanced at Judas to see if any of the names meant anything to him, hoping for a possible clue as to where the young man was from. She wondered if she should really be telling him all of this, since he was a complete stranger. Of course, she also probably shouldn't be letting him into her house, but here she was holding the door open and indicating that he should go ahead of her into the house.

"Just stop me if I'm boring you" she said. "As I said, it's a long story…"

* * *

Judas walked alongside the woman, not saying a word as she talked. The tone of her voice said that these were some memories she might rather forget. Well, he figured, it wasn't like he understood a thing she was saying anyway. Fonons? Hyperresonance? It meant nothing to him. Assassinate a target, though? That did mean something to him.

"So, you're a soldier or something?" he asked as he stepped into the house. He did not want to cut the girl's story off completely, so he figured a subtle change of topic would be for the best. "I think I was..." he muttered thoughtfully, glancing around in feigned interest of his surroundings. "But I'm not really sure..."

"So if this Luke upsets you, then why go see him?" he asked, changing the topic once again. The tone of the girl's voice—plus the tears—had indicated to him that she did not want to see this man. Perhaps a former boyfriend or something? "Seems stupid to me."

* * *

"Oh, well…" Tear began, but she stopped. Why did she agree to help? She could have said she was needed elsewhere and made up some sort of assignment to keep herself busy for the next month or so. "I…I don't know" she admitted finally. She sank down onto the couch, looking curiously up at the young man she had invited over on a whim.

"You think you were a soldier?" she asked, deciding to steer the conversation away from Luke if possible. "What do you mean?" She didn't see how someone would be unsure of his status as a soldier. She was reminded of her rank on an almost daily basis, and it had always been that way since she joined the Order of Lorelei. Realizing she wasn't being a very good hostess, she said "oh, would you like a drink or something?"

* * *

Judas was about to reply when Tear offered him a drink. Smiling gratefully, he nodded. He hadn't eaten anything in quite awhile, and just the thought of a glass of water was delightful. As she got up to get the drink, he followed her slowly, toying with how exactly to explain himself to her without sounding like a complete nimrod.

"Well, see...I guess what it comes down to is that I just don't remember..." he finally admitted with a sheepish grin and a shrug. "I know I'm good at fighting, but that's about it." He also really enjoyed fighting, but he figured it best not to scare her off by saying that. "It's stupid, but it's true. But enough about me," he said, brushing it off. "If you don't want to go see this Luke tomorrow, then don't. Clearly he doesn't deserve to have you visit him if he only upsets you."

* * *

Tear paused halfway out the door at Judas' last comment. Luke didn't deserve to have her visit? That concept seemed ludicrous. She gave the dark-haired man on her couch a small, sad smile. "He doesn't upset me...circumstances do." She turned away and went to the kitchen, pouring two tall glasses of water as she turned over what Judas had said in her mind. He claimed that didn't remember things. She remembered hearing about Luke's lack of memory and wondered briefly if Judas was a replica as well. Perhaps that was why she felt so comfortable around him, the same way she had warmed up rather quickly to Luke.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she dismissed it. She had felt comfortable around Judas instantly, something she had never experienced before with a complete stranger. Besides, Luke wasn't the only replica she had met, and something about Judas was different from the other replicas she had interacted with, including Luke. She had heard of instances where people who were in accidents or who had experienced trauma lost their memory, although she had also heard of many cases where the person recovered their memory. Judas seemed fairly good-natured, so she didn't really think he had experienced trauma, unless his memory loss had suppressed the memories of the trauma as well. She also hadn't noticed and visible physical signs of an accident.

The sensation of water running over her fingers made Tear realize that she had been so busy thinking that she forgot what she was doing. She had overfilled one of the cups and she quickly turned the water off, dumping a bit of the excess liquid from the cup. At least Judas hadn't followed her in here and seen her absentminded state. She reached for the other cup to carry them back to the living room and noticed the loaf of bread she had brought home that morning. Her stomach suddenly gurgled at her, reminding her that she had been too upset to eat anything earlier.

"Judas, would you like something to eat as well?" she called, setting the glasses back down. She wondered if he would resist if she tried to ask him more about himself, to see if he remembered his past. If he was a replica, he would have no past to remember, but she still didn't really think he was one. She returned to the doorway of the living room to see if he had heard her question. "I'm going to make myself a sandwich, would you like one too?" she asked.

* * *

Judas was standing just outside the door to the kitchen, listening as Tear bustled around. Leaning against the wall, he quietly turned the girl's statement over in his mind. So. Circumstances were what were upsetting her, not the person himself? He could not quite piece together what it could be, however. Yet it was like as not none of his business, so he decided to just drop the subject until she brought it up again; if she did.

At her offer for food, he could almost imagine his stomach growling at him to accept the offer. He had not eaten since lunch the previous day, and that left quite a bit of room for him to desire food. Still, a sandwich left something to be desired in his mind. He had discovered a few things about himself in the past few months, and one of those things was that he had a knack for cooking. Specifically cooking croquettes.

Grinning mischievously at her, he set out to walk past her into the kitchen, onyx eyes all but shining. Casting his gaze around the room, he nodded to himself. He could work with this.

"I'd love something to eat, Tear, but only if you let me cook." As he spoke, the black-haired man was already rolling up his sleeves to the elbow. "You've done more than enough for me already, so you just take a break and I'll make us something. You like croquettes?" he asked, already poking his nose around to see if all of the ingredients were present. "I'm told I'm pretty good at making them..."

Freezing, the black-haired man glanced up, confusion suddenly crossing his handsome features. He'd been told he made good croquettes, he _knew _he had, but who had told him that? It wasn't as though he had exactly had anyone to cook for, recently...

"Well, isn't that strange..." he muttered to himself.

* * *

Surprised by Judas' sudden change of mood, Tear stepped aside and allowed him into the kitchen. He hadn't really waited for her acceptance, but was already riffling about for the things he needed. She indicated where things were as he asked, but otherwise kept silence, watching him. She hadn't really taken the time to get a good look at him yet, since her mind had been rather preoccupied before. He was quite attractive, but she had realized that in the brief inspection of him in front of the library archives earlier that day. There was a sort of grace in his movement, and she couldn't help but notice that he had a small smile on his face while he was working. It was very soothing to watch him work, but she supposed it would be rude to stare.

"So you're a soldier and a chef?" she asked, half-teasingly. She reached over and grabbed one of the glasses of water she had filled, taking a sip. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something move, so she stepped fully into the hallway, looking toward the staircase that led up to her room. Was it just a trick of the light? She could have sworn she saw something down there. Perhaps it was a good thing she hadn't come home alone tonight, although she was probably skilled enough to take on anyone foolish enough to break into her home. "Hold on a moment" she called over her shoulder to Judas, who had his back to her and hadn't seen her step into the hall. Setting the glass of water down on the table, Tear grabbed her staff and walked toward the stairway. There was nothing there, and she frowned at the complete lack of evidence that there had even been anything there at all. Just to be sure, she walked up the stairs and checked the door to her room, but it was locked as usual.

"Weird..." she muttered, looking around the hallway. Nothing looked out of place, and she decided it must have been a trick of the light after all. She went back downstairs, but as she was about to lean her staff against the wall again, she stepped in something wet. With a small cry of surprise, she pulled back, looking down. Somehow her glass of water had upset itself while she was upstairs, spilling down the side of the table and forming a puddle on the floor. Had Judas come into the hall and knocked it over? She went into the kitchen to get something to clean the mess up, but the young man was still working on his croquettes as though he hadn't left the room. In fact, he gave Tear a slightly confused smile as she grabbed a towel.

"My water spilled," she explained, taking the towel back into the hallway. At least the glass hadn't fallen and shattered all over the floor. It was still sitting on the table, although Tear noticed with surprise that it was actually standing upright. She didn't remember moving it at all on the way into the kitchen, so it should have been lying on its side, right? Shaking her head at her apparent absentmindedness, Tear cleaned up the small puddle and returned to the kitchen. "Those are starting to look good," she commented, glancing over Judas' shoulder. "Do you cook a lot?"

* * *

"I'm not really sure," he replied with a soft, absentminded chuckle when Tear asked him if he was a soldier-chef... "Perhaps I'm a cook in an army...or was, anyway. Now I'm just Judas, wandering swordsman, or something. I had to survive somehow, right? Personally, I'm a bit relieved I'm a good cook."

For the next few minutes, the dark-haired male continued pulling out ingredients and setting them out. So intent of his task was he that Judas barely acknowledged Tear's statement that she would be back shortly. He was vaguely aware of her heading upstairs and bustling about for a moment, before returning to the downstairs. A moment later, she reappeared in the kitchen to get a towel, muttering about spilling her water. Now _that _was weird. He knew he was lost in his task, yet he would have at least noticed the sound of a glass toppling over, and water hitting the floor. What kind of a swordsman would he be if he missed such an obviously out-of-place sound?

Still, he doubted Tear would lie to him about something so trivial, so he dropped it and returned to his task of peeling the potatoes. It was an arduous process, so he was somewhat relieved when Tear returned and decided to strike up conversation again.

"I suppose so. I've been cooking for myself ever since I left Cap-" Pausing, Judas' brow furrowed for a moment before he shook his head and corrected himself. "-Kaitzur," he continued on smoothly. He had no idea what he had just been about to say, yet he figured it had to be just a trick of the mind, so he dropped it. With no real memory to speak of, he figured that was an easy enough mistake. "There was no one else to cook for me, so I did it all myself."

Finishing up the potato he was working on, Judas reached behind himself and went to set it down on the counter. As he was walking toward it, his sharp, black eyes caught his glass of water. Onyx orbs widened somewhat when he realised that, while it was still upright, it was completely void of water. He was only given a brief moment of reflection, however, as his next step landed him squarely in the missing liquid.

With a startled yelp, the dark-haired male found himself slipping backwards, knife and potato still in hand. Thankfully, years of sword-training had taught him what to do. Releasing the starchy food, he twisted in midair, like a cat, to get his knees under him. At the same instant, he shot his left hand out and dug the knife's tip into the side of the cupboard, where it could do him no harm. The minimal space in the kitchen had left no other real option.

Once he was free of the knife, landing was an easy task of getting his knees and right arm under him. Once that was taken care of, he easily flipped himself back to his feet within the second.

The whole thing had taken only seconds, yet Judas found himself panting and looking about wildly. What had just happened? He was _never_ that clumsy. _Never_. He would be a dead man long since had he been. Even as he pondered the accident, he bent to retrieve the knife, which he then carefully set on the counter, before grabbing the potato and towel Tear had used moments before. Setting the potato aside for disposal, he knelt down and immediately mopped up the water to prevent further incident.

"Well, that doesn't happen every day," he muttered to Tear as he cleaned up the water. "I swear I'm not normally that clumsy."

* * *

Watching Judas clean up the water mess he had nearly fallen in, Tear wondered where on Auldrant it had come from. Had her sink developed a leak or something while she was away? She hoped that wasn't the case, as repairing the water pipes would prove quite irritating. "It's all right, we all have our clumsy moments" she said, eyeing the remnants of the puddle. She was glad that Judas hadn't injured himself, but it was odd that there was a puddle in the middle of her kitchen floor. She was about to comment on that when she noticed slight movement on the countertop and glanced up just in time to see the knife Judas had carefully placed out of the way slipping over the side. Time seemed to slow down as she watched it falling directly toward Judas' hand, and she gasped, knowing there was no way she could get over there in time. The dark-haired man hear her gasp though, and turned just in time to see the knife and pull his fingers out of the way as the knife landed point down. It quivered slightly from the force of the impact, and Tear stared at it.

"That was close…" she said. She could have sworn she heard something or someone chuckle just before the knife had fallen, a different laugh from the one she had heard from Judas earlier. A small shiver went down Tear's spine. She had heard stories of malicious ghosts haunting people. What if a vicious spirit had decided to take up residence in her kitchen while she was off on her mission? No matter how many people told her that there were no such thing as ghosts, Tear still couldn't shake the feeling that there were supernatural beings in the world. "Are you all right?" she asked, coming the rest of the way into the kitchen and kneeling next to Judas. The knife was embedded into her kitchen floor quite firmly, so firmly that there was no way it could have built up that much force just falling. It was a good thing Judas had gotten his hand out of the way in time.

Tear suddenly realized that she and Judas were very close in the small space between the counter and the sink area. She didn't think she had ever seen eyes that dark before. One could almost fall into them. She pulled back a bit at the realization that she had started to lean closer to him, and stood up as a faint blush spread across her cheeks. She was acting ridiculous. Noticing that Judas had apparently finished his water while she was upstairs, she reached for the empty glass as something to change the subject in case he had noticed her flushed face. "I guess you were pretty thirsty," she commented, lifting the glass. "Feel free to have as much water as you like. Want me to re-fill this for you?" she asked.

* * *

Judas had been shocked, to say the least, when he realised why Tear had gasped. Seeing a knife-one he _knew_ he had placed safely out of the way-falling straight for his hand had been slightly unnerving, to say the least. Thankfully, the brunette's warning had been enough for him to react, thus saving his poor hand.

None of that explained why it had fallen, though. It was quite disconcerting, frightening even. He was not afraid to admit that it made him uncomfortable, but being who he was, he figured that the first order of business was to make certain that Tear was okay. Some people really did not like stuff like that.

"I think your house is out to get me," he stated with a light chuckle. As he was speaking, he turned onyx eyes, which had been fixed on the knife, to the girl who was currently kneeling beside him. With a slight start, he realised just how close she was. Close...and coming closer?

Blinking, he turned his eyes away in an effort to hide the blush he knew was staining his cheeks a faint hint of pink. He had no idea what her intent had been, yet it was hard to mistake the look in her eyes. Should he be scared staying here?

No, that was utter nonsense. Shoving the thought aside immediately, he made to stand, wanting to stretch out his stiff leg muscles. Kneeling that long always did a number on him.

When Tear spoke again, making an obvious attempt to avoid the situation of moments before, he was reminded of what he had noticed about the glass only moments before. Looking over at it, he spent a long moment deciding what to do. Should he tell her? On one hand, he did not want to freak her out anymore than she already was, on the other hand...well, it was her house.

"I never touched the water," he finally told her, face completely serious. "I was just noticing that the glass was empty when I fell. I don't know what the hell happened, but I do know I never touched that cup once."

Bending down again, he plucked the knife out of the floor and examined it while walking back over to Tear. "This is really wei-" His words were cut off by a sharp yelp as he dropped the suddenly roasting-hot knife. Somehow, as it fell, the knife seemed to..._shift _in midair, so it was falling straight for them. Tear, who had turned at the sound of his yelp, had moved her leg directly into its path.

With a muttered curse, the dark-haired male reached out and snatched Tear around her waist, wrenching her into him, even as he stepped back, bringing them both out of harm's way.

"Forget the house. That knife hates me," he stated, glaring down at it. "Are you okay?" he asked after a moment longer, finally releasing the brunette when he was certain the knife was not going to launch another attack.

* * *

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine" Tear said, a bit shaken by what had just happened. It wasn't just the knife either. When Judas had pulled her close to him like that, she hadn't wanted him to let go. What was wrong with her? Was she that desperate for affection now that Luke was definitely out of her reach? Not that Luke had ever been within her reach considering his engagement to the Princess and their differences in social standing. There had been a brief time when she had permitted herself to hope that perhaps one day things would be different, but that had been before Asch's death. Natalia had definitely seemed to have a predilection for Asch, but without him around she had settled for Luke. The two of them had already shared a lot more memories than Tear and Luke ever would anyway.

Turning her mind away from such depressing thoughts, Tear looked at the knife that was now lying on the floor once again. "Maybe we should just use a different knife?" she suggested. She stepped away from Judas, all too aware of his nearness in the close quarters of the kitchen. Picking the knife up gingerly, she placed it in the sink. She also placed his empty glass in the sink, wondering how the water had gotten out of both his glass and her glass without anyone touching either one. Glancing sidelong at Judas again, she wondered if perhaps he was haunted by a malicious spirit. Had he killed someone and they were haunting him now? Another shiver went down Tear's spine. What if he was only pretending to be nice and was actually planning to kill her in her sleep? She shook her head at thought, but decided that locking her bedroom door would be a good idea.

"Do you need any help with your…what did you call them? Croquettes?" she asked, deciding to stop thinking about such dark ideas. She might as well enjoy his company while he was here.

* * *

Judas watched as Tear moved the knife to the sink. Yes, if it managed to fall out of the sink, then they could determine that something was very, very wrong. At the moment, however, they had no evidence. Everything that had happened could just be happenstance.

Than again, maybe it was not.

Deciding to drop the issue for the moment, Tear certainly seemed eager enough to do so, Judas made his way back over to the peeled potatoes that had taken up residence on Tear's counter. At her offer to help, he smiled at her and nodded.

"Sure. Do you want to start mashing them for me?" he asked, indicating the potatoes that he was moving into a large bowl. "The sooner we get these made, the sooner we can eat."

* * *

Glad for the excuse to keep her hands busy instead of just watching, Tear began to mash the potatoes. She still stole the occasional glance at Judas, watching him work, but she had something else to concentrate on now instead of just him. "I'm looking forward to trying these" she commented. "I don't think I've had croquettes before." She wasn't really sure what to talk about with him. Normally she would ask visitors about themselves, but since he had already told her that he couldn't remember much more than the fact that he was a soldier, there was no real point in pressing the matter. However, the more time she spent with him, the more convinced she was that he wasn't a replica. She found herself wanting to know more about him, even though she knew he really didn't have anything to tell her. It was rather frustrating. Well, perhaps he could at least tell her about his travels. He had mentioned that he had come into town just recently.

"So you're new to town…where were you staying before you came to Baticul?" she asked.

* * *

Moving on to rolling up the croquettes, Judas spooned masses of the vegetable and meat mixture into the centre of each mass of potatoes. Setting them aside to fry, he moved through the croquettes quickly, thinking back to his travels over the past few months.

"Well, I'm not really sure," he finally admitted with a shrug. "I woke up in...Kaitzur, was it? And that's the earliest I remember anything." With a sigh, he began setting the cylindrical masses of potato onto the frying pan and stuck them over the fire he had lit earlier.

Idly frying the croquettes, he tried to decide what else to say. There really was not much.

"After that, well, I travelled and made my way here. I was trying to figure out where I was from, but you see how well that went over," he said with a dry laugh. "I can't even figure out where my accent's from..."

* * *

"It is very unique" Tear admitted. "I've done my fair share of traveling, and I can't ever remember meeting someone else with that accent." She watched him frying the potato masses with interest, trying to commit the recipe to memory so she could duplicate it later if she liked it. "Kaitzur though? You've come quite a ways! I'm impressed. Did you come across the ocean or go all the way up to the Rotelro Bridge?" Pulling up a map in her mind, Tear realized that Judas had to have been missing his memories for at least three months. She felt a pang of sympathy for him, realizing that he must be very lonely traveling around with no idea who he was. She wondered if he had a family who might be searching for him, and she made a mental note to check for 'missing person' notices after she visited the castle tomorrow.

* * *

Judas sighed just remembering the painfully-long journey he had made. "I came by land," he replied. "I didn't have the money to take a boat, and I wanted to check out the world. It was quite the walk, though. I've been travelling pretty much non-stop since I woke up." Pausing, he let out a weak chuckle. "That's why I probably look like something the cat dragged in." He could only hope Tear did not think to ask him how he had gotten through the boarder without a passport.

Flipping the last croquette off of the pan, he handed Tear a plate with a gentle smile. "So what about you? If you don't mind my asking, who is this Luke, and why did he upset you so much?" Judas had truly never learned the meaning of tact. "You looked pretty upset when you bumped into me."

* * *

"You look pretty good to me" Tear blurted out without thinking, and quickly flushed. "Er, I mean, considering what you've been doing for the past couple months or so…" She accepted the plate he handed her, hoping the blush on her face was not as vivid as it felt. "Sorry again for bumping into you" she said, fishing a fork from the drawer. She fished out another one and handed it to Judas, moving back into the other room to sit on the couch. "I hope you don't mind eating out here" she called over her shoulder as she left the room. "There's only one chair in there. I don't usually have company over, and I'm actually not home all that often…" She waited for him to join her on the couch before she spoke again.

"I mentioned before that the whole thing with Luke is a long story, but since you keep asking about it, I guess I'll tell you a bit more. After the hyper-resonance sent us all the way to Tataroo Valley, I felt rather responsible for him and decided to see him back to Baticul." She smiled reminiscently. "At the time I actually thought he was younger than he is, because he had a pretty sheltered life in the Fabre Manor." In fact, she had thought he was a bit of a brat at first, but over the course of their travels she had grown quite fond of him. Taking a bite of her croquette, she was momentarily distracted from her story. "Oh wow, this is good! You weren't kidding when you said you had some skill at making these!"

* * *

Judas could not help but smirk a bit as Tear fluently changed the subject to his cooking. Clearly she did not want to talk about her relationship with Luke. Still, there was at least one other thing the man wanted to know before he dropped the subject.

"Glad you like them," he told her, grinning somewhat arrogantly. "I told you they were good." Taking a bit of his own, he toyed with the idea of asking Tear his question before finally deciding to go for it.

"Okay, I get that you want to drop the subject on this Luke...but can I ask you one more thing before I drop it completely? I swear I will after." Watching Tear's face for a moment, he glanced down at his plate for a moment before looking back up at her.

"Who was he to you? Your lover, or just a friend...or...?" He was not completely certain why he was so intent of finding out, but he was.

* * *

"He was…just a friend" Tear said after a long pause. She set her fork down, not meeting Judas' gaze as she spoke. "There was a time when I thought perhaps there might be a chance for more, but he is getting married to the Princess later this month." There was a slight tone of regret in her voice, but she was already beginning to accept the fact. By morning she would hopefully be able to face Luke without her feelings complicating matters. She glanced over at Judas through the fringe of her bangs, wondering why he was so curious about the matter. Was she reading too much into this out of some desire for attention? He certainly had to be lonely, but that didn't mean that the first person to come along and talk to him would automatically catch his interest 'that' way. A slight flush crept over Tear's cheeks at the thought and she quickly brushed it from her mind, picking her fork back up to eat some more.

"That's why I have to go to the castle in the morning actually. I am supposed to help plan the wedding." She sighed slightly at the thought of the task ahead.

* * *

Getting married to a princess? Judas was hard-pressed not to groan. So Luke was a noble. Tear was interested in nobles. Well, that put a bit of a damper on his day. It shouldn't have, but it did.

Glancing over at Tear, he tried to send her an encouraging look. "Unrequited love? Well, at least you'll..." Pausing, he made certain to school his face to absolute calm, with a hint of mischief in his eyes, before continuing. "At least you've got the memories of those days, right? That's something." Something more than he himself had...not that he would ever say that.

Standing up suddenly, he held out his hand to take Tear's plate as well. "Here, I'll clean up," he offered. Taking the two plates, he fought off a jaw cracking yawn as he turned back to the kitchen. He had not slept in nearly two days, so he was feeling fairly tired. "After that...do you mind if I head to bed? I haven't slept in awhile, and I've got a big day in the coliseum tomorrow, right?" he asked with a bit of a cheeky grin. "I'd prefer to be rested for that." As he was speaking, the dark-haired male was already setting to work on cleaning the dishes. Much to his relief, none of the dishes gave him any grief to clean, not even the knife.

Once the dishes were done, he made his way back in with Tear and settled himself down on the couch. "This'll be better than sleeping on the ground, that's for sure," he commented, lying back with his head on his arms. He also made sure his sword was within easy reach.

Just in case.


	3. New Morn

_So, a few people have mentioned the constant perspective-change of this story, and I just want to once again reiterate that this **is** a roleplay. That is going to plague the story throughout. So sorry, those of you who are bothered by it (which is not all of you). Can't help it. _

_Other than that, we just want to thank you guys for the awesome reviews. Y'all rock. 8D_

* * *

**New Morn**

Tear felt a little bad letting her guest wash the dishes up, especially after he was the one who had cooked, but something in Judas' expression kept her from arguing. While he was cleaning up she went in search of some extra blankets to make the couch more comfortable for him. She couldn't even remember the last time she had had someone stay over, but she found a few spare blankets and even a spare pillow in the top of her closet. Returning to the couch, she arranged them into a rough semblance of a bed. Judas came back into the room as she was finishing, and she was rather surprised he had cleaned up so fast.

"Sleep well" she said as he settled down on the couch. He looked surprisingly comfortable, considering he was practically longer than the couch. Smiling to herself, Tear went upstairs to her own room, locking the door behind her and settling down for the night. She fell asleep thinking of the young man on her couch and her plans for the morning, resulting in some rather odd dreams. However, the night passed uneventfully and when she woke up she didn't remember any of her dreams. She came downstairs to find Judas already awake, although he was still lounging on the couch. Giving him a teasing smile, she asked "I suppose you're going to want to cook breakfast for yourself as well?"

* * *

Judas slept well, his exhausted body having no trouble falling into a deep sleep, which was surprising since he usually slept so light, regardless of where he was. There was just some part of him that was used to having to be on the watch for enemies.

Maybe he trusted Tear more than he thought.

When he awoke, Judas had intended to get up and make breakfast, however Tear had materialised faster than expected. Lounging back, suddenly feeling very comfortable around the brunette after the uneventful night, he shrugged and plastered a cocky grin on his face.

"Well, I could, but I wouldn't mind finding out how you cook," he told her, leaning forward to prop his arm up on his knee so he could rest his chin in his palm. In short: the complete image of a man at his ease.

* * *

Tear laughed lightly at his teasing comment before heading into the kitchen to find something to eat. She remembered that she had also bought eggs when she had gone shopping yesterday, so she got them out and cracked one open to make an omelette. "Is there anything you don't like to eat?" she called to Judas as she fried up the eggs. She didn't want to add anything to the omelette that he wouldn't eat. As she asked, she wondered if loosing his memories also made him forget what types of food he didn't like. Imagining that, she shuddered at the idea of not knowing to tell people what to leave out of her meals.

"I'm making omelettes, but if there is anything you don't want in yours, let me know" she called. After a momentary pause she added "Of course, if there is anything you are partial to, let me know that as well and I'll add it if I have any." She reached for the spice rack, spinning it until she found what she was looking for to flavour the eggs. Hopefully he wouldn't mention anything she had already put in, although she supposed if he did she could just set this one aside for herself and make his second. It was more polite to cook for the guest first though.

* * *

Judas thought for a moment before calling in to Tear, "No, I don't think so." At least, in all of his travels he had yet to find anything he did not like. He liked sweet foods and curry, especially, but he would eat just about anything.

"Just so long as it's edible, I'll eat it," he told her walking into the kitchen and leaning in the door frame. He knew his ruffled appearance was probably even worse since he had just woken up, but there was little he could do about that. He only had the one change of clothes. In the wild it had been easier to keep them in some semblance of clean, but being in Baticul made stripping down and scrubbing in a stream more difficult.

Glancing over at the omelettes frying, he sniffed the air appreciatively. "Hm, that smells pretty good," he told her. "Want me to get plates?" Without bothering to wait for a reply, he made his way to the cupboards and pulled out two plates, cups, and forks. "Should I get us something to drink?"

* * *

Glancing over as Judas started pulling dishes down, Tear couldn't help but smile at how helpful he was. It was nice to have someone so polite around. She also found herself smiling at his less than perfect hair. Finger-combing only went so far. "Thank you for your help" she said, flipping one of the omelettes out onto the plate he had brought her. "After we eat, do you want to borrow a hairbrush before we leave? I would offer you a change of clothes but there wouldn't be anything around here that you could wear..." She suppressed a chuckle at the mental image of him in one of her uniforms.

As he pulled down glasses, Tear couldn't help remembering the incident with the water last night. If something like that were to happen again, she would prefer it be just water and not juice, even though she tended to drink juice in the morning. "I'll just have water this morning" she said, adding spice to the second egg. "You can fill it from the tap there if you want though" she added, indicating the sink with her elbow as she added ingredients to their breakfast. The eggs were ready within a few more moments, and she picked up the two plates, presenting one to Judas. "Here you go! It may not be as fancy as your croquettes, but I think it will be good anyway." She smiled at him, turning to grab the glass of water. One of the forks fell to the floor, causing her to freeze momentarily at the memory of the strange behaviour of the knife last night, but then she realized her sleeve had caught on the edge of it and knocked it from the counter. "I'll need a new fork though" she commented, setting down her plate so she could pick the fork up to wash it. "You can go ahead and eat; I'll be in there in a moment."

* * *

At Tear's offer of a hairbrush, he smiled gratefully, nodding. "That would be awesome." He prided himself in his hair, so anything to clean it up was appreciated.

Accepting the food, Judas did not miss the look subtle look of fear that crossed Tear's face when the fork clattered to the floor. Clearly, events of the night before were still bothering her. Making his way back to the couch, he purposely walked past Tear, muttering as he did so, "It'll be fine," he told her, laying one hand on her shoulder. "If it decides to attack, I'll protect you." Squeezing her shoulder gently, he grinned reassuringly. "Promise."

After that brief statement, the man made his way back to couch, sitting so that his sword was at his feet. Just in case.

"So, when did you want to head for the coliseum?" he asked when Tear reappeared. As he waited for a response, he took a bite of the omelette, and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

"Hey, this isn't bad. I always liked woman who can cook." He made sure to keep a light tone and gentle chuckle in his voice to show he was only joking. Not that he did not appreciate women who could cook, of course.

...why was he thinking of this again?

* * *

Tear felt a flush creep over her cheeks at his compliment, wondering if she might be reading too much into the word 'like' in his sentence. She had just met him, why should she care what he thought of her? Chances were he would forget about her over the course of the day at the Coliseum, especially since she figured he probably planned to go to an inn tonight. She realized that she wouldn't mind if he stayed on her couch again that night, and considered offering him the spot. _'After all'_, she rationalized, _'he needs to save money, right?'_ The fact that she enjoyed his company was just an additional bonus. This had nothing to do with not wanting to come home to an empty house after spending the day planning the wedding of the person she had thought she might one day have a chance with herself.

Tear took another bite of her omelette and glanced over at Judas again, wondering what he would say if she did offer to let him stay longer. Would he think she was strange, inviting a person she had only met last night to continue staying in her home instead of getting rid of him the first chance she got? She gave him a sheepish grin as he caught her watching him and turned her gaze back to her breakfast.

"I was thinking once you get yourself ready we can go" she said. She had already washed up that morning, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to use the bathroom while she cleaned the breakfast dishes. "If you like, I can go get you the hairbrush now" she added, noticing that his breakfast was much more finished than hers. She had been too busy thinking to eat, a bad habit she had picked up somewhere. She wasn't really sure when that habit had started. Standing up, she set her plate on the couch beside Judas. "I'll be right back" she said, going upstairs and grabbing the brush from her dresser. She quickly cleaned the stray hair from it and went back downstairs. "Don't worry about your dishes, I can take care of them" she said, handing Judas her brush. She sat back down next to him to finish her eggs.

* * *

Judas quickly inhaled his food. He was a healthy young man, after all. He enjoyed eating, although his lithe frame would never show it. At Tear's offer, he nodded and stood back up to exchange the plate for the brush. Nodding his thanks, he set off for the bathroom. Shutting the door behind himself, he set to work tidying up as best he could. He really had little in the way of resources to do so, but he did what he could. Naturally, he spent the most time brushing out his jet-black locks until they shone. It had been awhile since he had been able to do so, and seeing his hair returned to its former sheen was a good feeling.

No matter that he could not remember the time when his hair had always looked thus. He just knew it had.

Finishing up, he took the brush and made his way back out to meet with Tear, marvelling at how good it felt to have his hair silky smooth again.

Depositing the brush on the couch, he exchanged it for his sword. "I guess that's it," he told her, wrapping the leather holding strap around his left hand. "You ready?"

* * *

The change in Judas' hair was stunning. Tear found it hard to resist the urge to run her fingers through the silky locks, and she couldn't take her eyes off of it. "Yeah...let's go" she said, slightly distractedly. She opened the door for him, stopping to grab her staff as she followed him out the door. She locked it up and began walking, although she soon found her eyes wandering back to Judas. He had been good-looking before, but now that his hair was so smooth and silky he was even more stunning than before. She found herself wishing she could style it, just for the excuse to run her fingers through it.

They reached the Coliseum much too soon for her taste, although she had taken a slightly roundabout way to get there as an excuse to delay her appointment with Luke and Natalia. "Well, here it is, home of Baticul's finest...gladiators I suppose." Tear said, looking up at the marble facade of the entryway. "I suppose I'll be leaving you now...but, if you'd like, you could come over again for dinner this evening" she said, a slight flush creeping over her face at how forward she was being. For some reason she didn't want to just leave it here and not see him again after she left the Coliseum. "I mean, if you don't feel like buying dinner at the inn or whatever" she added. "I'm sure you'll be able to make a decent amount of money today, but if you feel like saving a bit I can stop by again later. Or you can just come to my house if you remember the way there." She stopped, realizing she was babbling. Her flush deepened and she didn't meet Judas' dark gaze.

"It was nice to meet you" she said after a moment, wondering if he thought she was crazy. She knew she would probably laugh at someone who acted the way she just had.

* * *

Judas would have had to have been a fool not to notice the way Tear was staring at him. As he walked, he kept his eyes glued in front of him in an effort to hide the slight smirk teasing his lips and eyes. Now, he knew he was good looking, he caught women staring at him all of the time, yet to have someone like Tear, whom he presumed was far more restrained-which he preferred-staring was quite flattering. Really. Because his ego just needed a bigger boost.

As they made their way to the coliseum, Judas had no idea that Tear was taking a roundabout route, yet had he known he certainly would not have minded. He enjoyed being in her company. Possibly even more than he did fighting, odd as that seemed.

Still, they did eventually arrive at the coliseum. The large building towered over the square, its very presence seeming to loom over the folks out on the streets at such an early hour. Much to Judas' chagrin, however, he could hardly miss that its colonnaded walk was directly in line with the neatly paved walk that was the city's main entrance. Tear probably thought him a fool for not being able to find it on his own.

Well, that was all in the past; there was nothing he could do about it now. Passively, he realised that Tear was babbling as he studied the massive building, yet he left her to it. He could understand her feelings of reluctance to part; the same feeling had been clawing at his own gut since he had awoken that morning.

Eventually, however, the brunette silenced herself with 'it was nice to meet you,' prompting the dark-haired male to act. He wanted to thank Tear for all of her help, yet words had never really been his strong suit, well, at least not as far as apologies and thanks went, anyway.

On impulse, he turned to face her, grabbing her wrists gently with his hands. "Tear..." he murmured quietly, black eyes meeting blue. Knowing full well he was going to be useless at saying more, Judas used his grip on Tear's wrists to pull her into a kiss. It lasted only moments, after which he released her and pulled back, already turning to head into the coliseum, where numerous shopkeepers were shouting their wares. He ignored them all however, his mind divided between the girl outside and his upcoming battles.

* * *

Tear stood frozen in shock for a moment, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Had Judas really...kissed her? She touched her lip with one fingertip, a blush spreading across her face again. She was surprisingly happy for someone who had just been kissed by a person who was practically a stranger, especially considering that she was supposedly 'in love' with Luke. Realizing that she should probably get moving, Tear turned away from the Coliseum. Judas had long since disappeared inside, so it was pointless for her to wait around any more anyway. He hadn't really given her an answer about dinner, but she hoped the kiss was a 'yes, he would like to see her more'.


	4. Catastrophe

_I'm trying something new with the PoV breaks...as I'm sure you can all tell. XD Lemme know if it's too distracting? _

_Thanks for all of the awesome reviews so far, guys! It's awesome to hear from you!  
_

* * *

**Catastrophe**

Making her way to the castle, Tear felt her giddy mood slipping away at the prospect of her day's tasks. However, in the entry hall, she ran into someone she hadn't anticipated meeting. Jade Curtiss was idly gazing at a painting, apparently waiting for someone to announce him to the royal couple. He turned as Tear came in and gave her a half-smile in greeting.

"This is a surprise" Tear said, nodding in greeting to the Malkuth commander.

TALES FEND TAG

"A few things came up and I thought I ought to stop by while I was in town." he replied, adjusting his glasses with one finger. Tear nodded and continued down the hall. "If you don't mind, I'll just go in with you rather than waiting on someone to come announce me" Jade said, falling into step beside her. The two of them entered the room Natalia had asked Tear to come to the previous day. Stacks of parchment were scattered about and the royal couple was looking over a book that appeared to contain ribbon scraps.

TALES FEND TAG

"Good morning" Tear said, to announce their prescience. She moved some parchment off a chair and sat down across from Luke and Natalia. Jade gave the pair a courteous nod and proceeded to procure a chair for himself. "I ran into Jade in the entry hall and he said he would accompany me" Tear explained, as she was sure the other two were wondering why the Necromancer had joined them. "What sort of thing are you two doing right now?" she asked. She didn't look at Luke, but she could already tell that today wouldn't be as bad as she had previously thought. Her feelings were firmly sealed away, especially since images of Judas kept drifting through her mind.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas made his way, past the shops, into the main building of the coliseum. Approaching the desk, he made short task of registering, although not without a wince as to the money he was given up. Suddenly he was very happy he had not had to spend a cent since reaching Baticul, all thanks to Tear.

...Tear. What _was _he going to do about her invitation? He wanted to see her again, most certainly, but would it be awkward after what he had done?

No. It was not the time for that. Paying the entry fee, he made his way into the waiting room, standing quietly aside as he awaited his turn. It was almost time.

TALES FEND TAG

Luke gazed over the collection of ribbons with his untrained eye. He really had no idea what he was looking for. Wasn't this stuff a woman's job? Tear would be much better suited to help Natalia.

Although he could not help but realise he would gladly do any amount of ribbon-studying for Tear...

No, it was too late for that now. Instead he tried to focus on the ribbons once more, hoping Tear would arrive soon. He really wanted out.

He did not have long to wait, as only a few minutes later Tear and Jade-why was Jade there?-stepped into the room. As he glanced up and met the girl's eyes, Luke could not help but notice that she seemed a bit...dazed, and definitely happier than she had been the night before.

Looking at her curiously, he greeted her with a simple, "Morning, Tear. Jade." He wanted to know what had cheered her up so much, he really did.

TALES FEND TAG

Natalia knew Luke's heart wasn't in the work, yet there was little she could do. Instead she kept plugging away, patiently awaiting the arrival of her friend.

When Tear finally did show up, Colonel Curtiss in tow, she was somewhat surprised.

Rising, she nodded to her two guests. "Good morning, Tear. Thank you for coming. And Jade, to what do we owe the honour?" she asked before taking her seat once her guests were settled.

At Tear's question, Natalia quickly pointed out exactly what was required of her before turning her attention back to Jade, who was still withholding his response.

"Jade?"

TALES FEND TAG

Jade shifted in his seat to face the princess more fully. "I am actually tracking a trail of strange coincidences and odd occurrences. There have been reports of strange things happening from as far away as Kaitzur. I happened to be in the area since the latest report came from a small village within a day's walk of the city. "He eyed the stacks of parchment and miscellaneous items around the table."It appears I've come at a rather busy time though."

TALES FEND TAG

Tear looked up from the book Natalia had handed her as Jade spoke. "Strange occurrences?" she asked, thinking about the odd things that had happened last night. "What sort of strange occurrences?" She almost missed the mischievous glint that sparkled across Jade's eyes as he turned toward her.

TALES FEND TAG

"What would you say if I told you it was ghosts?" he asked, his face and voice dead serious. If Tear hadn't noticed that glint a moment before, his voice would have sent a shiver down her spine. She still felt a bit nervous after what she had seen last night and the thought that it might have been a ghost, but the way Jade was acting she hoped that he might have an explanation.

TALES FEND TAG

"I wouldn't believe you" Tear said, although she didn't meet Jade's gaze. However, since she was looking to the side, she found herself meeting Luke's eyes instead. A familiar pang of sadness welled up, and she quickly looked back down to the book Natalia had given her. Now was NOT the time for that sort of thing, nor was it the time to worry about ghosts. Jade chuckled softly as she returned to her work.

TALES FEND TAG

"Actually we have no explanation as of yet. People have just been reporting things that shouldn't happen but do, such as objects mysteriously disappearing or falling when they ought to have been secure. There have been some strange weather patterns as well, lightning storms in areas that usually don't experience such things." He adjusted his glasses again as he spoke, returning his full attention to Natalia. "I thought I ought to at least let you know, since I've been following reports in Kimlasca-Lanvalder for a while now."

TALES FEND TAG

Tear was only half listening as Jade spoke to Natalia. She was trying to concentrate on the task she had been given, but her mind kept drifting to Judas. She wondered how he was doing in the Coliseum. She had no doubt that he was a skilled fighter, and she almost wished she could go watch a few matches. She also couldn't help but think of the kiss he had given her. Why had he done that?

Natalia suddenly snapped a book shut and announced that she would like some lunch. Tear blinked in surprise at how much time had already passed. She was making slow progress, distracted as she was. Glancing up, she was that Luke kept sneaking looks at her when he thought Natalia wasn't paying attention. He was watching her at the moment, so their eyes met again. She gave him a small smile, and for once her heart didn't ache at the sight of him. Perhaps she would be able to accept this marriage after all, without as much heartache as she had previously assumed.

Outside the room, there was some sort of commotion going on. Jade opened the door and came back in, although Tear had never even noticed him leave. She felt a bit embarrassed at how out of it she had apparently been.

TALES FEND TAG

"It appears there is some trouble down at the Coliseum" Jade announced, shutting the door behind him. "I intend to go and have a look for myself in a moment, but I thought it might be prudent to inform you before I go." He looked at the three still seated around the table, arching one eyebrow in an unspoken question. Tear stood up.

TALES FEND TAG

"I'll go with you. I need a break to stretch my legs anyway" she said. She grabbed her staff from where it had fallen while she was working. "What about you two?" she asked, looking over at Luke and Natalia as well. If they joined her and Jade, this would be the first time in a long while that they had been anywhere close to the group that had traveled around trying to stop her brother's plans. Tear had to admit she missed those days, even if there were a lot of nights spent sleeping outside when they hadn't reached an inn before nightfall. Of course, once they had met with Noelle and had access to the Albiore, that hadn't been a problem anymore. She was also slightly worried about Judas, who as far as she knew was still at the Coliseum. Joining Jade by the door, she waited for the royal couple to answer.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas was having the time of his life. Having easily cleared the Beginner level, he had moved on to the Advanced Singles. He cleared the first battle with ease, his sword flashing in swiftly executed artes. As he fought, he could not shake the feeling that he had _done _this before. Yet...not. The audience felt right, the battling alone felt right, yet he felt...more at his ease than felt right.

At least until the second match.

Gazing around himself, he suddenly grinned. Now _this_ was more like it. There were enemies everywhere, at least a dozen of them, and somehow _that _felt right.

Enthusiastically, he threw himself into the fray.

"Rock Slag!" he cried, leaping into the air and performing a graceful flip as his sword smashed into the ground, crushing one bird beneath it, in an explosion of rock and fire. Not being one to waste time, he hopped back and into the air. "Die!" The arte landed him amidst the enemies, surrounded on all sides.

Well, it was nothing he could not handle.

Zipping in behind the birds, he gripped his sword tightly, and swung it like a bat. The arte threw one bird into another so both flew to the ground is a cloud of dust.

Whirling around, he quickly hopped backwards, wanting to get away from the irksome birds that had been repeatedly pecking at the back of his head. It was not horribly disruptive, but it was starting to get to him. As he hopped past the two birds on the ground, he stabbed them through with his blade. Once they were finished off, he hopped back again, wanting to gain his space and fight from a distance for awhile.

At least until his back hit something.

With a startled grunt, the black-haired male found himself sailing across the arena to land face-first in the hard-packed dirt. As soon as he hit the ground, the dark-haired male was flipping back to his feet. Dark eyes immediately set to work taking stock of his surroundings. The first thing he noted was that, where the arena had been filled with only chirpee-like enemies, now it was filled with monsters of all shapes, colours, and sizes. The next thing he noticed was that the cheering from the onlookers had changed to something more akin to screams of fear.

So clearly this was not supposed to happen. Had the monsters escaped? That seemed the most likely option to him.

Bad luck just seemed to follow him around...

Well, there was no point in putting it off.

"Blizzard!" he yelled, cutting the air in front of him into an X, which then exploded in a stream of wind and ice. Letting the sword flip over his head, he kicked out behind himself with his right leg, flipping the blade back around so he could catch it with his left hand. Without a second thought, he hurled himself into another attack immediately.

"Cyclone!" he cried, flipping his body repeatedly in the new arte. As he was going through it, he felt something's claw catch him down the back. Ignoring the pain, and the blood he could feel streaming down his back, he gripped his sword tighter and carried on.

TALES FEND TAG

At Jade's announcement that something was happening at the coliseum, Natalia turned her hazel eyes on Luke, her normal commanding posture coming out in full force.

"Luke, go with Jade and see what the problem is," she ordered. "It is royalty's job to see to it that nothing happens that could endanger the citizens without investigating it." She herself would have gone, except she felt it would be a good chance for Luke to do something for the people, and someone had to stay behind and work on the wedding.

Besides, she knew which one Luke would prefer. Not only that, either. She really did want her lunch.

TALES FEND TAG

Luke nodded, trying not to let relief show on his features as Natalia all but ordered him to accompany Jade and Tear. Moving over to the door, he grabbed his own blade, the Key of Lorelei, and buckled it across his back.

"Okay, we'll try to be back soon," he promised, already on his way out the door.

Glad to be out, the redhead led the way out of the palace, and down across the paved courtyard to the royal lift that would take them down directly to the ground-level of the city, where the coliseum was situated.

Even as they arrived at their destination, he could see patrons streaming out into the streets. Clearly something in there was scaring them.

"C'mon, guys," he said, already breaking into a run. Pushing his way into the building, he ran for the stands. Once there, he was horrified by the sight that met his emerald eyes. One loan man was down there, fighting what had to be every monster in the building. He was doing a noble job of it, but still hard pressed. The bleeding wounds covering his body could not have been helping, either.

"We need to help him!" Luke cried, yet even as he said it, the man's demeanour changed.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas was exhausted, there was no doubt about that, yet there was no way he was going to give up.

Gritting his teeth, he shoved his sword into the ground. "Aura Field!" he yelled as beams of healing magic washed over him, revitalising some of his strength. It was not enough, though, but it would have to do.

Jumping back, he whipped his sword out in front of him, carving another X in the air before him, which shot out and knocked one enemy halfway across the field. "Blast!"

Gripping his blade's hilt tightly, he decided it was time to end this...if that were possible. The dark-haired male zipped across the battle field as though dancing, his dark, black hair streaming out behind him as he did so, and his sword flying in a deadly, gleaming arc.

TALES FEND TAG

Seeing the wounds on Judas' body, Tear immediately stopped where she stood and began chanting the incantation for a healing spell. She was amazed how well he was holding up against the crowd of monsters. Beside her, Luke seemed worried about Judas as well, drawing his sword to head down and help the dark-haired young man. Jade, on the other hand, kept his usual calm demeanour. He stepped in front of Tear, materializing his spear and taking a defensive stance. It appeared as though he was going to protect Tear while she cast in case some of the monsters came in their direction. A few had already noticed the trio's entry and started toward them while Judas wreaked havoc on their fellow creatures on the other side of the arena floor.

"Come forth O illumination of life! Healing Circle!" Tear cried, casting the circle around Judas. He was moving around a good bit, but fortunately he was still within the confines of the healing spell. The circle of light glowed brightly and even from where she stood Tear could see some of his wounds closing, much to her relief. In front of her, Jade quickly and efficiently dispatched several small creatures while Luke engaged a large monster halfway down the stairs to the arena floor.

"Jade, we need to move closer" Tear said, already moving past the necromancer as she spoke. They made their way down the stairs, joining Luke and clearing the stands of monsters. As they fought, Tear wondered why there were so many monsters around, and how they had gotten up into the stands. She wasn't actually sure how to get down into the arena floor where Judas was, but somehow some of the monsters had gotten up here into the stands where the trio was fighting. Tear paused on the edge of the arena, looking down into the actual fighting ring. Judas still had a substantial amount of blood on himself, but she wasn't sure how much was his own and how much belonged to the monsters he was methodically and gracefully dispatching. Just in case, she began to cast first aid.

"Oh healing power…First aid!" she called, and the burst of light around Judas indicated her skill had hit home. She looked around for a way to get down into the arena with him, wondering if he would be able to handle the large number of monsters on his own. She didn't see Luke anywhere, and she wondered if the red-head knew a way down from the stands. Looking down again, Tear wondered if she would injure herself jumping down. Behind her, Jade was watching Judas fight, apparently content to just observe instead of interfering. She felt a slight twinge of irritation at the necromancer's cold attitude toward people he didn't know, and his preference for observing situations to see if they actually required his assistance rather than just jumping in to offer aid right away as Luke would do. She looked at Judas again, amazed at his stamina. Even from here she could see the determined expression on his face as he carved a path through the enemies.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas was near the end of his rope when he felt a wave of healing light wash over him. Unable to process much beyond the swarm of enemies, he simply continued to fight on. He was grateful for the help, but he really did not have much time to stop and check out the stands. However, when a second healing spell hit him, he did just that. Clearly he had at least one ally out there, and it would be a good idea to know where that person was, protecting an ally was important.

What he was not expecting to see, however, was Tear. Oh, sure, further down the stands some redhead was hacking away at the monsters in the stands, and a honey-haired man was standing guard over Tear, yet he really only had eyes for the brunette. Seeing her in the middle of this mess worried him. What if she got hurt? Sure she seemed to be fully capable of looking after herself, yet that did not necessarily mean she was not in danger.

Clearly he had to end this quickly.

TALES FEND TAG

Luke was steadfastly hacking away at monsters, his emerald eyes narrowed in determination. Not only was some poor guy trapped down there alone, but Tear was also just a little ways above him, trying to keep them alive with her hymns. There was no way he was going to let her get hurt because of his own negligence.

Gripping the Key of Lorelei tightly, he flattened one monster with a devastating Rending Blast, and chucked another one into the wall with a swiftly executed Swallow Fury. Yet it was not enough. There were monsters everywhere.

Growling to himself, he decided to do the only thing he could.

"You're finished! Arise, resound, and become the blade of destruction! _Lost Fon Driiiive_!" Waving the blade in front of himself, he began cutting voids in the air, which he then released in the form of a devastating blast that cleared half of the bleachers of monsters.

Lowering the grey sword, he checked the status of the area around him, pleased to see that it was mostly void of monsters. He had even managed to kill some of the ones assaulting the man on the arena floor.

Once he was certain the area around him was clear, he began running back to where Tear and Jade where. Their location also contained the last of the monsters in the bleachers-which he had intentionally not attacked. He really did not want to flatten either of them with his blast.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas was impressed when the kid in amongst the benches cleared out the monsters with one move. That had been quite the attack. He did not, however, miss that the redhead had left the monsters around Tear and the other man. Glancing up to see if they were okay, his eyes widened when he realised that the terrified monsters were pressing their assault harder, likely out of fear at their dwindling numbers.

With a growl, he stood helplessly trying to work out what to do, ignoring the monsters clawing at him for a moment. He knew he had to do something, but what? His artes were fairly short-ranged, save a few like Final Gale and Azure Storm, but even they would reach nowhere near far enough.

He needed something huge.

Whipping his sword around so it was in front of him, he spun the blade a few times, until it was vertical in front of him, point reaching toward the sky. He then whipped it back down, summoning a huge burst of power into the blade as he did so, lengthening the sword.

But it still was not enough.

Raising the blade over his head, he let out a wordless yell as he summoned even more power, which materialised in the form of a giant, white beam of light, stretching toward the sky.

Now _that_ was big enough.

"_Light Sword_!" he yelled, slashing out with the blade and using it to demolish everything left in the area.

Once that was done, the long-haired male collapsed to his knees, panting for breath. He could feel a disgusting conglomeration of sweat and blood leaking down his frame, and his legs felt too shaky to hold him up any longer. Looking up at Tear, he attempted a weak grin. Well, that had certainly been fun.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas looked ready to pass out after the massive explosion of energy he had unleashed. He had fallen to his knees in the center of the carnage, and Tear noticed that a part of the arena had been damaged enough by the burst from Luke's Lost Fon Drive that someone could climb down to the floor there. She hurried over, carefully making her way down over the rubble. She heard Jade following, double checking any monsters that hadn't been completely obliterated. Tear wasn't worried about the monsters, since the energy from Judas' attack had been incredibly intense. Luke gave her a somewhat confused look as she ran past him, but understanding dawned on him as she began climbing down to the arena floor.

Finally reaching the bloodstained floor, Tear ran over to Judas, kneeling beside him despite the mess. "Are you all right?" she asked, worry in her voice as she checked him for any visible damage. She cast first aid on him again, although the healing light couldn't do anything about the state of his clothing or the blood that was still wet on his skin. "That attack was amazing...I've never seen anything like that!" She was very impressed by his skill, but she was also worried about how pale he looked under the blood. It seemed that his attack had taken a lot out of him, not that she blamed him. If she had been the one fighting, she probably wouldn't have made it out alive.

TALES FEND TAG

Saying Luke was startled by the sudden outburst from the dark-haired male would be an understatement. It had been clear he was skilled even before they arrived, since he was surviving alone, but to summon that much energy, even though he had to have been exhausted, was something else entirely.

Well, it was not like Luke was going to complain. The fact that it seemed nobody had died was enough for him.

When Tear shot by him, Luke furrowed his brow slightly before realising where she was going. Of course. To heal him. Seeing that Jade was taking care of the inspection, Luke decided to follow. He really wanted to meet the warrior who had beaten the better part of the coliseum's monsters single-handedly.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas was relieved when Tear settled in next to him, another healing spell already on her lips. He had a lot of injuries, and that required a lot of healing. Yet even as the last of his wounds closed up, the feeling of lethargy did not leave him. And that wasn't solely because he was tired. He knew he had lost a lot of blood today, his skin felt cold and clammy, his heart rate was too fast, even considering the adrenaline in him, and he just felt like he had no strength to move. The very will to do so had literally been leaked out of him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he finally told her in response to her question. "But I bet I'd be better if all of this blood was inside of me." He was attempting to crack a joke, yet his smile came out as more of a pained grimace. Despite the healing, he hurt all over. "Plus I probably really need a bath."

At her comment on his attack, Judas shrugged weakly. "Well, it's not like I could very well let you get killed, now is it? And what are you doing here, anyway? I thought you were supposed to be busy today."

TALES FEND TAG

When Luke finally joined Tear and the stranger, he nodded to the man, glancing over him quickly. While the man looked completely exhausted, it seemed like he would live. The very fact that he was conscious enough to hold a conversation with Tear seemed fairly indicative of that fact.

"That...was pretty cool," Luke told him, kneeling down next to Tear.

TALES FEND TAG

Judas shrugged at the redhead's comment, not really interested in listening to mindless praise.

"We do what we can to survive."

TALES FEND TAG

Luke laughed. "Isn't that the truth..." At the stranger's comment, Luke could not help but reflect on his relationships with Natalia and Tear. Yes, it was the truth.

"Oh! I'm Luke, by the way. Luke Fon Fabre, son of Duke Fabre...and fiancé to Princess Natalia," he added that last part with a poorly-hidden grimace. It was even harder to say than normal with Tear right there next to him. "This is Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants," he opted not to add anymore of Tear's titles, since he figured being a member of the Grand Maestro Division, under Mohs, was no honour any longer. "...formerly of the Order of Lorelei. And up there is Colonel Jade Curtiss, commander of the Third Division of Malkuth's Imperial Forces." He was not trying to sound pompous by adding their titles, of course, but since he planned to take the man back to the palace, it was probably best that he give him some warning.

"How about we head back t the palace? You can get cleaned up and something to eat there. Then we can talk."

TALES FEND TAG

When the redhead introduced himself as Luke, Judas huffed silently to himself and glanced at Tear. She certainly did not seem to appreciate the man rubbing his engagement in their faces one bit.

Frowning, the dark-haired male shrugged at Luke's invitation.

"Sure, fine. I'm Judas," he could not help the bite that his tone had when he introduced himself. The guy who was willingly throwing a girl like Tear aside was right in front of him. It pissed him off.

So that he was not focusing on his jealousy, because that was what it was, for all that he hated to admit it, Judas grabbed his sword and used it as a staff to push himself back to his feet.

"How far is this place?" he demanded. He was not sure how long he would be able to keep his feet for.

TALES FEND TAG

Tear felt rather annoyed as Luke rattled off her title, especially since she had left it out of her former conversations with Judas. It was enough to have everyone else constantly reminding her of her rank, she had been happy to let him think of her as simply 'Tear.' In fact, she hadn't even given him her last name, nor had he given her his last name. She noticed that he hadn't given it to Luke either, and she wondered if he had forgotten it with the rest of his memories. Watching him get unsteadily to his feet, she took a half-step forward to offer her assistance, but paused. She didn't know if he was the type to accept help like that.

She did notice the rather sharp tone in Judas' voice as he introduced himself though. Was that an effect of his condition or was he upset about something? The expression on his face was rather dark. After her initial hesitation, Tear stepped forward to offer Judas support whether he wanted it or not. She didn't even ask, but moved beside him and draped his arm over her shoulder while wrapping her arm around his waist. Luke would be more suited to supporting him, but she suspected Judas would be rather reluctant to accept help from the red-head. Of course, he probably didn't particularly want to look too weak to walk himself, but the way he had swayed when he stood up indicated that he might not make it as far as the castle unattended.

"Lean on me" she instructed, her tone leaving no room for argument. Glancing up toward Jade, she saw that the Colonel had joined them on the arena floor.

TALES FEND TAG

"I'll be staying here to ask some questions. I will come back up to the castle later when I have a better understanding of what happened here." Jade said, eyeing Judas critically. He had not expected an attack of the magnitude Judas had unleashed, and he thought that perhaps after the young man had rested he might need to have a chat with him. At the moment, however, the dark-haired stranger looked as though he had been 'put through the wringer,' so to speak. Jade suspected that without Tear's support the young man might topple over rather quickly. "If you will excuse me?" he said, turning away and walking toward the fighter's entrance to the arena.

TALES FEND TAG

Realizing that the door Jade was heading for would probably be the easiest way out, Tear followed the necromancer's lead, although at a much slower pace. She looked at Judas, whose face was very close to hers due to the way she had draped his arm over herself. She couldn't help thinking of the kiss he had given her, and even though he was quite filthy and tired from his battle he was undeniably good looking. After he had a chance to clean up she would ask him about the kiss. She glanced back over the shoulder Judas wasn't draped over to make sure Luke was following. Natalia would not be pleased if Tear returned without her fiancé in tow.


	5. Rest

Luke tried to keep calm when the man, Judas, suddenly decided to be short with him. While he did not exactly enjoy it, the redhead figured it was probably related to how tired he was. People tended to become irritable when they were tired.

Then again, that really did not explain why the man had grown so cold directly after Luke's introductions. Perhaps he was intimidated? No, that did not make sense. Then maybe he did not like nobles? Yes, that seemed plausible to Luke. Even underneath all of the grime, Judas did not seem like a particularly well-to-do individual, so perhaps that was it. It was not uncommon for commoners to dislike nobility.

What did bother Luke, however, was how close Judas was getting to Tear. He knew he had no place to be jealous, yet he was anyway. The person he loved was Tear, not Natalia, no matter what circumstances brought him.

"Here, Tear, I'll help him," Luke offered after a moment, realising just how much taller Judas was than her. It looked pretty awkward for the poor guy. Even as he stepped forward, however, a glare from the black-haired male sent the redhead reeling back a step.

Okay, maybe he _really_ didn't like nobles, although that seemed to be stretching things too far for even him.

Well, whatever it was, Luke was already deciding he needed to keep an eye on the guy. He knew how powerful Judas was now, and there was no way he was going let the guy hurt those he cared about.

At least the way Judas was now he seemed genuinely harmless.

OoO

Judas was somewhat unimpressed when Tear literally yanked his arm over her shoulder, forcing him to either lean on her or fall over. He opted for the former. As Tear started practically dragging him out-really, he was just too tired to argue!-the dark-haired male stopped momentarily along the way to retrieve his scabbard and sheath his sword. After wiping it off, of course. No way was he going to let the iron in the blood rust his sword.

Once that was done, he allowed Tear to continue leading-dragging!-him out. He also tried to ignore just who he was leaning on, although that was easier said than done. He could not help noticing two things. One, Tear was actually really strong for a girl, and two, she smelled really good.

Oh yes, this was going to be a lovely walk back to the _palace_.

With an inward sigh, Judas mentally slapped himself. There was really no reason for him to be acting so sulky. He had just had what might well have been the best fight of his life, he was with Tear again, and he had come out of the fighting alive. Really, there was more good than bad.

The support wasn't even a bad thing, really. What was the shame in being tired after _that_? There was none, which was what.

He decided to just enjoy the time with Tear, and forget about the redhead behind them. As they walked, Judas finally smiled over at Tear, his eyes regaining some of their former spark.

"You know, I really don't care about titles, so whatever he said? Don't worry about it." He had not missed the frown on Tear's lips when Luke had mentioned her title. There was no shame in being a minor officer, and besides, he had said former. None of that mattered, though. Not to him.

OoO

Tear was glad to see some of the spirit she had already grown accustomed to return to Judas' eyes as they walked. It was clear that the attack had drained most of his energy, and she had been worried that he had overdrawn his reserves. The fact that he could still direct that quirky smile at her was a relief. She returned his smile as he spoke, but then she said "You probably shouldn't talk too much until you've rested a bit. I'm sure you'll be able to get plenty to eat and a nice bath when we reach the palace." She had noticed his apparent reluctance to go there, and she remembered how nervous she had been the first time she had been summoned to such an important place. Perhaps he felt as though he would be out of place, although she had thought he was the type who didn't care as much about that sort of thing. He had seemed so at ease last night, even though she had been able to tell he was tired then too.

"I'm sure you'll feel much better after you get cleaned up" Tear said, still supporting Judas. She had noticed that she was more dragging than assisting, but she figured he was just more tired than she had previously assumed. There was also the possibility he was just leaning on her to be close to her, but she didn't think he was that type of guy. In any case, that sort of thing was more suited to a time when there was joking around involved. She remembered purposefully weighing her brother down when she was younger, although that had been mostly to annoy him.

The trio reached the palace, and Luke finally stopped lagging behind. Tear wondered why he was being so moody today, although she supposed planning a wedding was not really his sort of thing. He must not be looking forward to rejoining Natalia. She wasn't particularly looking forward to it herself. Luke led her and Judas to one of the guest rooms, and Tear instructed one of the servants to draw up a bath as she eased Judas into one of the chairs. She realized that he would get blood on the cushion, but she didn't really care. It wasn't as if bloodstains were impossible to clean, and with the ridiculous number of staff that seemed to be constantly buzzing around this place there ought to be someone available to do it. Tear had always felt a bit crowded when she visited the palace. Three maids constantly waiting on her beck and call seemed a bit excessive. At the moment however, they could at least be useful. She sent one to fetch Judas some clean clothes before turning to Luke.

"Would you mind if I cleaned up some as well?" she asked. Carrying Judas had resulted in her clothing becoming nearly as messy as his and she certainly didn't intend to go back and work on wedding plans without cleaning up. That task was irritating enough as it was without adding in the annoyance of drying blood on her clothes. She didn't mind if she had to go home to change, but she knew there were plenty of guest rooms in this wing. She had stayed in them more than once, before she had acquired her own apartment in the city. "I'll need a change of clothes as well" she added, partially to Luke and partially to the servant who was supposed to fetch Judas something clean to wear.

OoO

Luke was relieved to get back to the palace. He had not really overheard much in the way of conversation between Tear and Judas-mostly because they hadn't said anything. Which he supposed was just as well. It wasn't like Judas was being invited to the palace to make friends. It was more like for questioning.

At Tear's request, the redhead immediately nodded and sent for more servants. He did not want either of his guests to be lacking.

"Sure. You two go ahead and get cleaned up. Afterwards, Tear, can you and Judas meet us in the little sitting room?" For all intents and purposes, Luke was fairly certain that wedding plans were done for the day. Natalia was going to want to hear all about this.

"If that's okay, I'm going to go get changed myself." With that, Luke left, trusting that Tear knew what to do.

OoO

Judas had frowned a bit when Tear brushed off his attempt at conversation so easily, yet he let it lie. Partially because he didn't have the energy to argue and partially because...no, completely because he just didn't have the energy.

As the bathtub was slowly filled, Judas could not help but feel at least somewhat excited about getting clean. It had been a long time since he had had a real, hot bath, with fresh clothes afterward.

By the time the tub was filled, the young man was more than happy to strip down and climb in, although not before chasing out the maids that seemed to want to help him wash.

Honestly. Nobles.

As he bathed, Judas could not help but noticed the grime that was quickly dirtying the water, staining it an auburn colour from dirt and blood. With the amount of red in the water, he was surprised he was moving at all. He had lost a lot of blood. And that was just assuming that about half of it was his.

Once he was cleaned, with his hair washed, Judas grabbed a towel and made his way into the dressing room-did nobles really have to have rooms for _everything_?-and glanced at the clothing that had been left for him. Emerald green and white? So not his colours.

With a sigh, the dark-haired male began yanking the clothes on anyway. At least they were somewhat warm, hopefully that would help with how cold he himself felt. It was the blood loss.

Once he was dressed, the black-eyed man made his way over to the mirror and began meticulously drying and brushing his hair, until it shone to its former glory. At least that was one part of him that could look good, he decided. The rest of him just looked like death. His eyes were sunken in slightly and badly ringed, he was pale as a ghost, something that stood out far more when one considered his dark hair and eyes, and he was too skinny. Yes, that was what months of travelling in the wild had done for him. It had been mostly hidden under a layer of grime and dirt before, but now, in clean clothing and without the dirt, it was painfully apparent.

He definitely needed to get a steady job before he killed himself from either exhaustion or malnutrition, whichever came first.

He was given no more time for reflection, however, as a knock sounded at the door. Figuring that it was probably Tear, he made his way over to let her in.

OoO

Although she wasn't that dirty, Tear opted for a full bath just for the luxury of it. She did enjoy a nice soak now and then, although she didn't want to spend too much time in here. Something told her Judas would not be very comfortable alone in the palace, so she intended to rejoin him as soon as she was done, assuming he was finished bathing by the time she was through. Allowing herself a short amount of time to relax, Tear leaned back and closed her eyes to enjoy the hot water. Her mind drifted to Judas again, as she seemed increasingly inclined to do. Was it just fascination with such a mysterious stranger that kept bringing him to mind? There was no denying that he was an enigma with his missing memories and apparent lack of connections to anyone or anything.

Deciding that she had spent enough time soaking, Tear dried herself off and went to see what the maid had laid out for her. It was much too decorative and formal for her taste, but at least she could change when she returned home later. She brushed her still-damp hair and glanced in the mirror. At least the servants hadn't picked something too colourful, although she could have done without most of the decorative trim and ribbons. Natalia wore some decently sensible clothing, so why did the servants always find the frilliest clothing for Tear when she visited? The songstress wondered if they found it amusing to see her in such clothing.

Making her way back down the hall to the room she had left Judas in, she knocked on the door. It opened a moment later, revealing a very pale and exhausted looking young man. Tear's eyes widened as she realized just how much the fighting today must have taken out of him, especially coupled with the traveling he had been doing lately.

"Are you all right?" she asked in alarm. "You look like you should sit down, and maybe eat something." At the mention of food, her own stomach reminded her that it had been a while since breakfast. "I'll have someone bring something up here" she said, looking back out into the hall. As expected, there was a servant standing quietly by. Tear thought their job must be infinitely boring, standing about waiting for a guest to have a request. She gave him a small smile and asked that lunch be brought up to the room before returning to sit by Judas.

"You look like you haven't had a decent meal in months" Tear commented, although as she said it she realized it was probably true. He had mentioned last night that he had very little money and no memories of anything but his travels from Kaitzur. She wondered what sort of odd jobs he might have been able to pick up for what little money he did have. She also wondered how she hadn't noticed how poor his condition was last night, although the lighting in her house was not nearly as bright as the palace. She could have offered him a place to stay longer, to give him time to recover a bit. As she considered that option, she looked over at him again. Would he accept the offer of a place to recover or would he feel as though he was being a burden? She couldn't imagine accepting an offer like that from a virtual stranger, no matter how poorly she was doing. However, if she could get him hired as a mercenary for a while, he could at least make some decent money. Perhaps he wouldn't mind staying with her until arrangements could be made.

"By the way, what are your plans for the future?" she asked. "Are you going to travel more or stay in Baticul?" She hadn't asked him last night, since she had assumed they would part ways at the Coliseum and not see each other again. After that kiss this morning, and the fact that she couldn't get him out of her mind, she would be sad to see him go if he did decide to keep traveling. "You look as though you could use a break from traveling" she added. Actually, he looked as though he could use a break from everything. He looked as though he could sleep for a week.

OoO

Judas had noticed the look Tear gave him as soon as the door opened, and barely managed to suppress a wince. He knew he looked bad, but was there really any reason to look at him like that? Okay, maybe there was...but still, it made him uncomfortable.

When Tear sent for food, he once again had to force down a wince. He knew he needed to eat, yet he just did not feel like he could force, or even keep, food down at the moment. It was probably all of the stress he had been under. That and the fact that he was bone-weary. Neither option left much room for a desire to eat. Those facts, coupled with the fact that his body had grown accustomed to one or two meals a day, left him really not wanting to eat.

A glass of water _would _be good, though.

He was not really a fan of having people fuss over him, either. Which was Tear looked about ready to do. Still, he let her steer him over to the couch, and obediently sat when she indicated that he should. Really, he just did not have the energy to argue with her.

When Tear settled in alongside him on the couch, he tried to ignore her close proximity. At the very _least_, his innate responses wanted to move in closer to her for heat. Because he was cold, dammit. Maybe he should get a blanket.

Except that would involve moving. Something he was not ready to do quite yet.

Tear's sudden comment about how he looked brought a bit of a sardonic smile to the dark-haired male's face. Honestly, what did she think? He knew he had been, at best, vague about his travels, yet the very condition he had been in when he arrived at her house should have told her that much. He had been planning on sleeping in the streets to save money. Of course he had not been eating well.

"That's probably because I haven't," he stated dryly. Well, exempting the night before, and that morning, of course. In fact, the best time of his life that he could remember-all three months or so of it-had been his time spent at Tear's.

When Tear asked him about his plans, Judas pondered for a moment before replying, "Well, my original plan was to make a name for myself, and try to get hired as a mercenary, or something. I was planning to use the coliseum to do that, but you saw how well that went over. Damn, I swear bad luck just seems to find me. It's like bad situations hunt me out." He had a vague inkling that he had something of the sort before, but quickly brushed it aside. It was not important. "So now...I have no idea. I'm willing to bet I won't be getting any prize money for that show, and I literally used the last of my money to pay the entry fee." Rolling his eyes, Judas sighed. "And even if people decide to recognise me for my show in there...well, look at me. I look like I should be dead." While not quite true, he really did not look all _that _bad, it got the point across. "Damn...I knew my health was going downhill, and I had hoped to have time to recover before trying to find work, but I guess now I'm just screwed.

"Oh well, I guess I'll leave in the morning and see what I can find further on in the world. Who knows, maybe there's a place for me somewhere. Because no way in hell am I going to lie down and give up. I'll figure this out, one way or another."

Taking a deep breath after his long rant, Judas sent a light smile to Tear, hoping to reassure her that he was fine. He had not really meant to say as much as he had, yet somehow, once she had gotten him going, he had just spilled it all.

"I didn't really want to leave yet, though..." he muttered after a long moment, shooting Tear a sad look as he did so."I like this city. I like the people." Or, well, person. "But I guess Fate has other plans for me."

OoO

"Leave in the morning?" Tear asked, startled. She hadn't expected him to move on so soon. "Is that really necessary? If you're looking for a mercenary job I can probably get you something" she said quickly. She really didn't want him to leave, especially since he looked as though he wouldn't last very long if he continued traveling the way he had been. "I mean, you are obviously very skilled at fighting. Perhaps Jade could use some assistance in whatever he's been doing." Not that the Colonel couldn't take care of himself, but from the sounds of things his current investigation could use some more manpower. In fact, she had been considering volunteering herself if Natalia would let her excuse herself from wedding planning. Something about what Jade had said earlier had been bugging her and she wanted to ask him for more details. He said he had been to Kaitzur, which was where Judas had woken up without his memories. Perhaps the loss of his memories could be the result of one of those 'strange things' Jade had been investigating.

"Are you cold?" Tear asked, noticing suddenly that Judas appeared to be trembling. She leaned closer to him, pressing her hand to his forehead and examining his tired face critically. His lower lip was tinged blue, a clear sign that his body temperature was too low. "Why didn't you say something?" she asked, quickly getting up to look for something to wrap him in. There was a bed in the next room and she started to pull the blanket off when it occurred to her that perhaps making him lay down would be a better idea. She went back into the other room, ignoring the look he gave her at the fact that she was treating him like a sick child.

"Don't argue, just come with me" she said, helping him to his feet and half dragging, half-supporting him to get him to the bed. "You lost more blood than I thought. If only I had gotten there sooner to heal you…" she said as she pulled the sheets back and deposited him on the bed. He definitely didn't look happy now, but she would rather him be irritated with her than pass out. "Stop glaring at me and lie down" she instructed, pushing at his shoulder to get him to lie back against the plush pillows of the overly decorated bed. Tear pushed a few of the pillows off the bed to make more room for Judas, although she supposed once he was in the bed she might just line them up around him for extra warmth. She hoped he wouldn't be too upset with her later for treating him this way, but she was worried about his health.

"Maybe you should just sleep" she said, sitting on the edge of the bed and arranging the blankets around Judas' shivering body. "After what you've been through that would probably be the best for your health." She had been hoping to talk more with him, but in his current state he might pass out on her. It was amazing he hadn't passed out already, all things considered. "Do you need anything?" she asked.

OoO

Judas sighed and shrugged when Tear commented on his plans. He did not really know what else he _could _do.

"What else can I do? Nobody would hire me like this," he muttered rolling his eyes.

He was not given a chance to say more, however, as Tear suddenly got up and went into the bedroom. Mystified, he got up to follow her, only he barely made it two steps before he rethought that plan, and sat down in the chair next to him. Moments later, the brunette was rejoining him. Before he got a chance to say anything, she had dragged him to his feet, and was half-carrying, half-dragging him into the bedroom.

"T-Tear?" he asked in confusion when he realised that she intended to take him into the bedroom. She could not be thinking... No way. It was only a moment later that he realised her intent was to settle him in like a child. That most certainly did not sit well with him. He did not even like the idea of people doting on him. He was too independent.

"Look, I'm fine, okay?" he said, trying to get back up after she pushed him down. The very fact that Tear was handling him so easily was probably testimony to that lie, however. He really did not fell all that great at all.

Although he did not need this. Really.

"I don't need anything, and I can't just sleep," he snapped after a moment. He really did _not_ like this. "We're supposed to go meet with that Luke guy, remember?" he asked with a roll of the eyes. "And probably that Jade, too. I really don't have time to be lying around." That said, he made another effort to push himself up and get free. Honestly, he could sleep later. While he certainly did not care about coming to Luke's summons, he himself was curious to know what had happened.

And perhaps he could find out for certain about that prize money.

OoO

Tear frowned at Judas as he tried to get back up. "I don't care what Jade and Luke want, you need to rest. You look like you might pass out any minute" she said. She crossed her arms over her chest as if daring him to argue with her further. It was quite obvious that he was unhappy with the way she was treating him right now, but her worry for his health outweighed her desire to not make him upset at her. She wouldn't have been happy if the roles had been reversed and he was the one telling her to sleep, even if she had known that she needed to.

"I'll go speak with the two of them and tell them not to disturb you until you've had some sleep. If you get out of that bed without sleeping, so help me, I WILL tie you down." She met Judas' glower with a scowl of her own. However, she couldn't help adding "Judging by the state you're in, you're in no condition to stop me either." She glanced at the door. "I suppose Luke could come in here later, but right now I don't think you should be worrying about anything."

Turning away, she walked over to the door and pulled it shut as she was leaving. "Get some sleep" she called through the gap before the door clicked shut. She went back to the room where she had left Natalia, assuming Luke had probably made his way back there as well. Jade was probably still down in the town somewhere, questioning people about the incident with the monsters. Knocking gently on the door, Tear waited for a response to indicate that Luke and Natalia were still inside.

OoO

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	6. Foray

Judas' scowl could have split rock. Seriously, regardless of how weak he might or might not be, he was still strong enough not to appreciate a threat about being tied down. Not that he thought she would, or even could, go that far. Sure, she might be able to push him around, but tying him up was another matter entirely.

Immediately after Tear left, Judas sat up, trying to decide what to do. His body certainly wanted to sleep, however there was that nagging curiosity in him that wanted to know exactly what had happened at the coliseum. He was also more than a little concerned about the spectators. He hoped none of them had been injured in the attack. In fact, there was a part of him that wanted to go down there and check out the situation first-hand. If there was any way he could help, he wanted to do so.

In fact, he decided that was exactly what he was going to do.

Hopping out of bed, Judas grabbed his sword and looped the scabbard over his belt. He then collected the boots that had been left for him, and pulled them on, before slipping over to the balcony. Stepping out onto it, he saw to his relief that he was not all that far up, and the castle's rocky surface would make scaling the side a breeze.

So that was what he did. Slipping over the railing of the balcony, he slid into the shadow of the overhang, and began his decent. Honestly, he found it too be a lot more work than he had anticipated, due to his exhaustion, and he ended up slipping part of the way down, and scraping his shins and elbows. Yet he did make it down in one piece, and that was what mattered.

Once his feet hit the ground, he slipped away, knowing that it was now only the simple task of getting out of the grounds. Maybe now he could learn what he wanted to learn, and be away without ever having to set foot in the castle again. The place was too stuffy for his tastes.

When the servant arrived a few minutes later to an empty room, she frowned at noticing the balcony doors had been left ajar. Setting the food aside, she hurried away to tell Natalia. She did not know what it meant, but she figured a higher-up should know.

OoO

Luke's head popped up at the sound of a knock on the solid, pine doors that lead to the small sitting room. Motioning to one of the servants to open them, he greeted Tear with a small smile and a nod.

"Tear, I'm glad you came...where's Judas?" he asked upon realising the dark-haired male was not with Tear. He could see it if the other man had needed some food or rest first, however. The guy had looked pretty run-down after that fight. He certainly would not blame the other male if that were the case. Luke himself probably would have passed out after that.

OoO

"Tear, good to see you again," Natalia greeted as soon as the brunette songstress entered the room. "Luke filled me in on what happened. I'm glad you weren't injured. "I apologise for letting you put yourself in danger like that. I should have been down there, so I thank you for your work." The princess has not been raised to be ungrateful, and she was not about to start not. Tear deserved a great deal of recognition for her efforts, and especially her role in saving the poor man's life. The very fact that Judas had gotten out alive was going to be a selling point on saving the coliseum. It was too important for anything else.

Before she got a chance to say more, however, a knock sounded at the door, causing Natalia to raise an eyebrow. "Let them in," she called to the guard.

OoO

"Judas is resting, or should be resting" Tear said in answer t Luke as the guard let a serving maid in. The maid gave the Princess and her fiancé a courteous greeting and informed them that she had found the balcony doors ajar in one of the rooms. She then turned to Tear and gave her a half curtsy as well. "Miss, I brought the food you requested to the guest room." Tear's stomach grumbled at the reminder that she hadn't eaten, but she was more interested in what the girl had said previously.

"Did you say the balcony doors were ajar?" she asked, and the girl nodded. Tear frowned, wondering why Judas would have gotten up to open the balcony doors when he had clearly been cold. "Was the young man still in bed?" she asked, and the maid gave her a blank look. "He has dark hair, about this long" Tear elaborated, measuring the approximate length of Judas' hair as she spoke. "Pale skin, he's wearing one of the green and white guest outfits?" The maid shook her head, claiming that she hadn't seen anyone in the room. Tear frowned again. Had Judas gotten up and come after her? He wouldn't have known where to go, so if he had he was probably wandering the halls of the castle now. "Please tell the staff to keep an eye out for him. He should have been in there" she instructed the maid.

Turning back to Natalia and Luke she said "I'm sorry to come in and go right back out, but I forgot I ordered lunch brought up. I haven't eaten yet." Her stomach gurgled again, quite loudly this time, and she flushed slightly. "I am also wondering where Judas went if he's no longer in bed" she admitted. Although she hadn't meant it when she had threatened to tie him down, now she wondered if she should have taken precautions against him wandering off. The castle was an easy place to get lost. However, even if he had come after her, that still didn't explain why he had opened the balcony door first. Excusing herself, she followed the serving maid back out of the room, heading toward the room she had left Judas in. The bed was definitely empty. She felt a small pang of worry, knowing he was in rather poor condition. At least when Luke had been unconscious after the destruction of Akzeriuth, she had known where he was. Judas, on the other hand, could be anywhere.

OoO

Jade had questioned everyone who worked at the coliseum, and some of the guests who had been present when the monsters had been released. Everyone claimed that there had been no one down near the cages, since the monsters which had been scheduled to fight had already been brought up to the ring at the time. Most of the people who had been present had dispersed, although Jade had instructed people to question anyone they had seen earlier that day in case someone knew something.

Overhearing one of the coliseum workers complaining about the damage done in the stands by Luke's lost Fon drive, the necromancer pinned the man with a piercing stare. "Your King-to-be did that to protect his people. The costs to repair a small section of seating are nothing compared to the reparations that might have been needed had those monsters escaped the arena." He turned away, shaking his head slightly at the idiocy of some people sometimes. Did no one stop to think before they opened their mouths? He left the arena in the care of the owner, since he had already questioned everyone present.

Fortunately very few people had been injured in the attack. People's instinct for self preservation was much more prevalent than their curiosity to see how the fight between the lone man and the horde of monsters. Of course, there had been exceptions, and those who had lingered had been taken to the nearby medical center for healing. Civilians had no place on the battlefield, but for some reason some people just didn't seem to understand that. Jade headed back for the castle, intending to report his findings to Luke, Tear, and the others. However, along the way he caught sight of a dark-haired man that looked very similar to the one who had been attempting to single-handedly wipe out the monsters. He was very pale and looked exhausted, but the attitude in his face was the same. There was also the fact that he was wearing the colors of the royal family, clothing that Jade himself had been subjected to wearing at least once before. The necromancer started to call out, and realized he had never actually gotten the man's name. Still, he wanted to talk to him.

"Excuse me" he said, falling into step beside the man. "If I'm not mistaken, you are the one who neutralized the majority of the monsters in the Coliseum earlier, correct?" he asked, eying Judas' tired face. "My apologies, but I didn't catch your name." He noticed that the dark-haired man was headed away from the palace and not accompanied by anyone, which was rather odd. After that show earlier he had expected Tear and Luke to keep the man at the castle for questioning. "I'm afraid there is not much to learn at the Coliseum" Jade added, noticing where the other man seemed to be heading. "Do you still have business there?"

OoO

Tear did not know it, but her fear was far from unfounded. Not long out in the sun, and Judas found himself seeing spots, the bright light upsetting his vision and giving him a rather splitting headache. Which in turn was messing up his vision. Just wonderful. Perhaps this little foray had not been a good idea after all.

Still, he was out now, so he was going to make the best of it.

As he wandered further into town, in what he dearly hoped was the direction of the coliseum, the long-haired male was hard-pressed to suppress the urge to lean on his sword like a crutch. Walking just seemed so arduous without support. Hell, even with support he was not sure how far he would be able to make it.

Still, he managed to press on, and eventually he found himself in the company of Jade, the colonel Luke had mentioned in his introductions earlier. He was not about to complain about the turn of events, however, as it meant that he did not have as far to go in an effort to find his answers.

"Judas," was all he said by way of introduction. He really did not have any other name to give. "And yeah, I was just wondering how things were down there." As he spoke, Judas nodded in the general direction of the coliseum...or what he hoped was the general direction, anyway. "Thought I'd see if anyone needed help, or anything. I was worried people might have been injured. I tried to keep civilians from getting hurt, but..." Sighing, he trailed off for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I guess I just want to know what the hell happened back there that almost killed me... That _would_ have killed me had Tear not shown up. I might have been able to kill the lot of them like I did, but I probably would have bled to death after." Shrugging, he sighed. "So what did you find out?"

OoO

When Tear took off, Luke had a quick word with Natalia before trotting off after his friend. It was a worrisome prospect to think of Judas lost in the castle. After all the man had done, the last thing the royal couple wanted to do was lose him. Especially if his health was poor, as Tear had mentioned.

The balcony business was worrisome, too. What if someone had snuck in and done something? Especially with Judas now missing, the whole thing did not look very good. Of course, there was also the slim chance that Judas had slipped away himself. As unlikely as that seemed, it was not impossible.

Arriving at the room, Luke knocked before slipping quickly inside to see Tear looking around, clearly upset about something. He figured that that something had to be a certain black-haired male. Tear was a good caregiver; she would never want a patient of hers off wandering around while his or her health was poor.

"I'm here to give you a hand," he told her, glancing around the room. "Natalia's already passed the order off for the servants to keep an eye out for him.

"So, did you learn anything? I can't imagine he's gone very far, wherever he was headed. Not unless he had help..." he mumbled the last bit, staring at the now-closed doors.

OoO

Jade frowned at Judas' question. "I'm afraid I didn't learn much..." he said, thinking about the answers he had been given. "No one seems to know anything about how the monsters got loose, or how they managed to escape the underground care area and get into the arena. They also had no idea how the creatures made their way into the stands, since there is no way to get from the arena ground floor directly into the stands." The necromancer glanced over at his companion. "Speaking of getting rid of them though, that arte was unfamiliar to me. Where did you learn it?"

He noticed that Judas' steps were rather unsteady and frowned again. Why had Luke and Tear let him wander off if he was in such poor condition? "You don't look very good. Perhaps we should go to the inn if we are to continue our conversation? I need to book a room for this evening anyway. " Although he was sure there was probably an open invitation to stay in the Palace, Jade was not particularly fond of the fuss of castle life. He got enough of that in Malkuth, thanks to Peony.

"If you are not adverse to the idea, I'll book you a room as well. I doubt the coliseum staff will be willing to pay you after the amount of damage that was done, so allow me to thank you in their stead for neutralizing the threat to the general populace." Jade knew it wasn't really his place to make such an offer, since he wasn't even a citizen of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. However, the staff was likely to be tight-fisted and Judas looked as though he wasn't exactly rolling in riches. The necromancer had taken an interest in the strange young man and would rather keep him close by for observation, so offering him a room seemed the best way to go about it at the moment.

"Of course, I am sure the Princess and her fiancé would be glad to let you stay free of charge in their guest room if you so desire. They will want to thank you for your assistance." Somehow Jade didn't think Judas was the type to enjoy that sort of thing. Perhaps it was how uncomfortable he looked in the guest clothing meant for nobility.

OoO

Tear gave Luke another half-hearted smile, but she picked up something off one of the trays the maids had brought. "Thank you Luke. I hope he hasn't gone far. He really didn't look well…" Worry was clear in her voice as she spoke, and she found her gaze inadvertently drawn to the balcony door again. There was no way Judas could have gone out that way, right? She couldn't think of a reason he would want to leave, unless perhaps she had upset him by treating him rather like a child. She hoped that wasn't the case, as she didn't want to drive him away. Taking a bite of her lunch, she found it oddly tasteless.

"I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought," she said, setting the bowl back down. She returned her gaze to Luke. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'learn anything' though. Judas and I didn't talk much before I told him to get some rest." She sighed. "It's terrible that he has to go through something like this on top of losing his memories…"

OoO

"Well, I suppose it was asking too much for you to know anything this soon," Judas said with a shrug. "I'm just glad the monsters didn't get away and demolish half of the city."

At the mention of his arte, Judas shrugged lightly and frowned. "I really have no idea," he replied honestly. "Although, it might have something to do with..." Frowning, the black-haired man shook his head and sighed. "No, never mind. That's stupid." There was no way the...thing was the only word for it, that he had on his person back in Kaitzur could have anything to do with it. In fact, he really should just get rid of it. Yet he could not seem to bring himself to do it.

When Jade began talking about staying at an inn, Judas could not stop a stab of guilt from assaulting him. The offer was sorely tempting, yet he already felt terrible for just running off without a word to Tear. Sure, he had no real obligation to her (minus the healing, food, and place to stay...), yet it still bothered him. Perhaps he should go back... There was always the small matter of Tear's invitation for dinner, too. Although, in light of recent events, he was not sure it was still standing.

With a sigh, he shook his head slowly, reluctantly. "As tempting as your offer is-" and it _was_ tempting "-I left without telling anyone. I'd rather not worry Tear," he admitted, pointedly averting his eyes to the buildings they were passing to hide his minute blush. On his pale face, small as it was it would still be noticeable. "So I should probably go back there. At least long enough to let them know I'm okay."

OoO

Luke furrowed his brow for a moment before understanding dawned on him. "Oh, well, I was just wondering if you had figured out where Judas had taken off to, not if you had learned anything from him. I wouldn't be surprised if Jade came back and told us what the monsters had for breakfast. And Judas, too."

Tear's later comment caused the redhead's eyes to widen. "H-he lost his memories?" he asked. It was just like him...well, the memories part. At least Luke had had his family. Or, well, Asch's. Support had made it easier, but Judas seemed pretty alone. "What's his last name? Maybe we can find his family." Eyes widening further, Luke realised something. "Is...is Judas even his real name?" Suddenly the man's pointed lack of formal introductions made sense. Did Judas even have a name? Or was he...

"Do you...is he a replica?" It would be odd for a replica to have that sort of power. Odd, but not impossible.

OoO

Jade raised an eyebrow questioningly at Judas as the young man admitted that he had left without telling anyone. Somehow he had suspected that might be the case. If Tear had realized he was gone, she probably was worrying. "I see." He altered his path a bit, now heading for the castle instead. Reserving a room could wait. "I'll walk with you then."

The city was surprisingly quiet considering the time of day, so the two had the street to themselves as they walked. Jade assumed that word of the monsters escaping had spread quickly and the citizens were confining themselves to their homes until they were sure it was safe to venture outside again. As they walked, Jade eyed the strange bracelet-like object Judas wore. He had never seen craftsmanship like that, and it certainly didn't look as though it was part of the young-man's borrowed attire. He wondered where Judas had gotten it.

OoO

Tear furrowed her brow at Luke's questions. She had no idea if Judas was his real name or not, and she wasn't sure if Judas himself would know either. "I don't think he is a replica" she said after a quiet moment. "There's a certain…difference with him, if you know what I mean." She looked over at Luke, who had told stories of his earliest memories. Judas did not seem as though he had only recently learned to talk, and his fighting skills were certainly not the sort of thing one could pick up without years of training. "I don't know if Judas is his real name, or where he's from, or if he has loved ones who are searching for him."

She thought again about how lonely that life must be, cut off from all memories of people and places that were dear to you. She would hate to lose the precious memories she had gathered over the years. What sort of treasured moments might Judas have lost? At least when Luke had been learning as a newborn replica he had been with a family who loved and supported him. Although Judas wasn't a replica, at least she didn't think he was, he still had nothing of the sort. An empty road with only his sword as a companion was the only thing that lay behind him, and unless things changed it appeared to be his prospect for the future as well.

Tear felt a pang of sympathy at the thought. People couldn't exist on their own; they needed the support of friends. She decided that when she saw Judas again, she would apologize to him for treating him like a child. If there was anything she could do to help him, she wanted to do it. Perhaps he would accept her friendship and leave the lonely road behind.

OoO

Judas walked alongside Jade in silence. He was somewhat relieved for the lack of conversation, as it gave him time to think. Logically, he should just take the chance to leave. A good night's sleep at an inn, a good meal, and then leave in the morning before anyone got a chance to stop him. It all seemed like such a perfect plan. Yet instead here he was, giving up his freedom to follow Jade back to the castle. A castle he really did not want to go back to. A castle that Tear was currently in, so a castle he was going back to. It was a stupid reason, but that was the truth of it.

He was getting entirely too fond of the woman to be healthy. She was clearly in love with Luke, so what was the point? And besides that...he recognised that his own reaction to her might well be just because he was lonely. He _was _lonely, as much as he hated to admit it. He knew virtually no one in the world, and Tear was the first person to really extend such a great degree of kindness to him. It was all too likely that his growing affection for her was because of that kindness, and that was dangerous to both of them. If the feelings were not real, then they would die with time. It was troublesome. Then again, none of that really mattered in light of the fact that Tear _was_ very fond of Luke... Sure, he might be getting married to someone else, but that would likely leave Tear heartbroken for quite some time. Except...well, except that she had not rejected him when he had kissed her earlier. Which was potentially troublesome in and of itself. She might well be rebounding to him and...

Ugh, it was giving him a headache. For now, he would just see where life took him, and at the moment that meant not running off to never see her again. It meant going back to the castle. The castle, he realised, he was now standing before. Apparently he had zoned out for the entire walk. He fell back into the background as Jade got them invited in, and then they were off, walking to wherever it was that Luke-and hopefully Tear, too-was.

OoO

"We should look, then," Luke replied, determined. After having spent the first seven years of his existence not knowing anything himself, he felt pangs of sympathy for the lost swordsman. If Judas needed help, then the redhead was going to be all to willing to give it. Nobody deserved to be left behind by life.

"After...after the wedding we can start looking, if he wants. I don't know how well it'll work, but I'd be more than willing to try for him." A moment later, a knock sounded at the door. Frowning in confusion, he made his way over to and opened it to reveal a slim maid.

"Hm? Oh, okay! That's good news. Thank you." Turning back to Tear, Luke shot her a reassuring smile. "Come on, let's head back downstairs," he told her, already keeping to his own words. "Apparently Jade just arrived, with Judas in tow." He was not really sure how the black-haired male had gotten free of the castle, but he was glad Jade had brought him back. "We're going to have to keep a better eye on him. I wouldn't want him getting hurt because he's pushing himself too hard." Not after all Judas had done for his city.

* * *

_So, I might possibly have forgotten about updating this. Can you forgive me, excellent readers? D: But really, don't ever be afraid to poke me, or something. Like I said before, there's a tonne written, it's really only a matter of posting it. I have no excuses, then. _

_Anyway. Hope you enjoyed!_


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